Tigeladas de Abrantes (Egg Custards Baked in Clay Bowls)
- Prep
- 15 min
- Total
- 40 min
- pieces
- 8
- Calories
- 310 kcal
Tigeladas de Abrantes come from the convent sweets of the Ribatejo but have long been a popular sweet. They bake in unglazed clay bowls in a very hot wood oven and get a rustic, slightly burnt crust that contrasts with the soft inside of eggs and milk.
Recipe
Tigeladas de Abrantes
A rustic oven sweet, baked in clay bowls, with a dense inside and a toasted top.
Ingredients
Method
- 1Preheat the oven to 220 °C (425 °F). At the same time, put the empty unglazed clay bowls inside to heat up very well (this is essential so they don't stick).
- 2In a bowl, mix the flour with the sugar and cinnamon.
- 3Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well with a whisk. Add the lemon zest.
- 4Finally, pour in the cold milk in a thin stream, stirring all the time until you have a smooth liquid batter.
- 5Take the hot bowls out of the oven quickly. With a ladle, fill them almost to the top.
- 6Bake in the hot oven for about 20 to 30 minutes, until they rise a little and form a dark, toasted crust on top.
- 7Take them out of the oven and let them cool in their bowls. Loosen them with a knife or serve them straight in the clay.
Tips
Heat the clay bowls in the oven before filling them: the batter starts cooking the moment it touches the hot clay, so it doesn’t stick.
Elsewhere in Portugal, tigeladas da Beira have more flour and sometimes lard; the Abrantes recipe is mostly eggs, whole milk, sugar, lemon zest and a little cinnamon, with the texture of a firm pudding.
Keep them covered in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, and eat them cold or slightly warm.
