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Traditional Alentejo sericaia dusted with cinnamon.
Sweets

Sericaia (Alentejo Cinnamon Egg Pudding with Elvas Plums)

Leonor Perreira · Updated Nov 12, 2026
Prep
10 min
Total
45 min
Servings
6
Calories
320 kcal
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Sericaia, or sericaia de Elvas, is one of the best-known convent desserts of the Alentejo. It bakes in a shallow clay dish, comes out of the oven with a deeply cracked top dusted with cinnamon, and is traditionally served with Elvas plums in syrup.

Like many convent sweets, it was born in the convents of Elvas from eggs, milk and sugar, simple ingredients worked with care. A cracked, golden crust over a soft, creamy inside is the sign it’s well made: the cream should rise and crack in the hot oven, never stay smooth.

Recipe

Sericaia Tradicional do Alentejo

An Alentejo sweet somewhere between a pudding and a soufflé, scented with cinnamon and lemon peel and served with Elvas plums in syrup. One of the great convent sweets of the Alentejo.

Ingredients

6 servings

Method

  1. 1
    Preheat the oven to 225 °C (425 °F). For the real tradition, heat the clay dish (deep and wide) in the oven too while you make the batter.
  2. 2
    Bring the milk to the boil with the cinnamon stick and lemon peel. When it boils, take it off the heat and let it cool to warm.
  3. 3
    In a large bowl, beat the yolks with the sugar very well until creamy and pale.
  4. 4
    Add the flour gradually, beating all the time so no lumps form.
  5. 5
    Remove the cinnamon stick and lemon peel from the warm milk. Pour the milk slowly over the yolk mixture, stirring hard.
  6. 6
    Return the mixture to low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens (without letting it boil). Take it off and let it cool a little.
  7. 7
    Beat the whites to stiff peaks with a pinch of salt. Fold them carefully, a little at a time, into the cooled cream.
  8. 8
    Take the clay dish out of the oven (careful not to burn yourself) and spoon in the mixture in dollops. It should spread unevenly.
  9. 9
    Dust the whole surface with plenty of ground cinnamon, so the crust opens in its typical cracks.
  10. 10
    Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes. It's ready when the cream is set and the top has big cracks. Serve it cooled, with an Elvas plum.
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Tips

The secret of the crust is putting the clay dish into the oven already hot and keeping the temperature high all the way through.

Serve it in the clay dish: moved to another dish, it loses its texture. It’s traditionally eaten warm or at room temperature, never chilled, and is best on the day.

Without Elvas plums, a plum compote or fresh red berries are good substitutes.

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