QUEIJADAS DE SINTRA (Portuguese fresh cheese cinnamon tarts)
Portuguese towns and cities alike are incredibly proud of their traditional sweets and pastries. Sintra, a beautiful hill town not far outside of Lisbon, is understandably proud of this recipe. It is believed that this recipe dates from the 14th Century!
Equipment
- 24 metal tart tins or enough muffin trays to make 24.
Ingredients
Dough:
- 2½ cups flour
- ½ cup water
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
Filling:
- 2 cups fresh cheese possible, substitutions, ricotta cheese, or cream cheese
- 1¼ cups sugar
- 8 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp flour
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
Dough:
- Mix all the ingredients together. water, flour, egg, butter, sugar and salt
- kneed the dough about 5 minutes. 30 minutes then knead the dough for about five more minutes and allow to rest again for 30 minutes . (you could also knead the dough and let it rest overnight in the refrigerator- let it sit out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before attempting to roll out the dough).
- Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1 mm. (tip: sprinkle the dough with a little flower if it sticks to the surface. In order to get the dough thin it's often beneficial to partially roll it out let it rest for a few minutes then continue to roll it out to the desired thickness).
Filling
- I put the fresh cheese (farmers cheese, ricotta cheese, cottage cheese or another mild fresh cheese.) And sugar into a mixing bowl or food processor. Mix for a few minutes until the sugar and the cheese are thoroughly mixed.
- Add the egg yolks, 1 tablespoon of flour, cinnamon, and a half teaspoon of salt. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly for a few minutes.
- Butter or use some spray oil on your tartlet tins or muffin pans.
- Cut the dough and circular shapes with a cookie cutter. I pressed the dough into your tartlet tins or muffin pan.
- Bake at 400 F (205 c) for 18-25 minutes. (or until the internal temperature is between 185-190°F)
Notes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
