Portuguese Pastries10 to Try Beyond the Pastel de Nata

Travesseiros from Sintra, ovos moles from Aveiro, pão de ló, bola de Berlim and more. A guide to Portugal's pastelaria counter and where each pastry comes from.

By Mesa de Portugal Kitchen · Updated · 4 min read

Portuguese Pastries - 10 to Try Beyond the Pastel de Nata

Walk into any Portuguese pastelaria and the glass counter is a wall of temptation. The pastel de nata gets all the fame, but it's only the start. Many Portuguese sweets come from convents, where nuns used the egg yolks left over after egg whites were used to starch clothes and clarify wine. That's why so many of them are golden, rich and very sweet.

1. Pastel de nata

The custard tart in crisp puff pastry, burnt in spots on top. Have it warm with cinnamon. Make it at home.

2. Travesseiros de Sintra

"Pillows" of puff pastry filled with almond and egg cream, rolled in sugar. Sintra's cafés have made them for decades. Eat them fresh, ideally after walking up to the palaces.

3. Queijadas de Sintra

Small, crisp-edged tarts filled with fresh cheese, sugar, egg and cinnamon. Another Sintra classic, sold in paper-wrapped stacks.

4. Ovos moles de Aveiro

Sweet egg-yolk cream wrapped in thin wafer shaped like shells and fish. They have protected geographical status, so true ovos moles must come from the Aveiro region.

5. Pastel de Tentúgal

Paper-thin layers of pastry around a filling of sweet egg cream, from a village near Coimbra. Also protected, and very fragile: eat it carefully.

6. Pão de ló

A light sponge cake. Some versions, like the one from Ovar, are baked so they stay soft and almost liquid in the middle. Others are tall and airy.

7. Bola de Berlim

Portugal's doughnut, split and filled with yellow egg custard. It's sold on beaches all summer by vendors calling out as they walk along the sand.

8. Pastel de feijão

A small tart from Torres Vedras filled with a sweet paste of white beans, almonds and eggs. It sounds odd, and tastes wonderful.

9. Bolo de bolacha

Not from a bakery, but from every Portuguese family's birthday table: Maria biscuits soaked in coffee and layered with buttercream. Our recipe.

10. Arroz doce

Rice pudding decorated with cinnamon lines. Found at every festa and on most tasca dessert lists. Recipe.

Bake at home

The one tool worth buying is a set of proper nata tins. They give a thinner, crisper base than a muffin tray.

Serving idea: Pastel de nata tins, made in Portugal
Serving idea
Portuguese

Pastel de nata tins, made in Portugal

The small fluted tins that give natas their thin, crisp base, made in Portugal like the ones pastelarias use.

Tip: Don't wash them in the dishwasher. Wipe them clean and they'll season over time.

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From the shop

What you’ll need

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Serving idea: Pastel de nata tins, made in Portugal
Serving idea
Portuguese

Pastel de nata tins, made in Portugal

The small fluted tins that give natas their thin, crisp base, made in Portugal like the ones pastelarias use.

Tip: Don't wash them in the dishwasher. Wipe them clean and they'll season over time.

View on Amazon
Serving idea: Delta Cafés ground coffee bundle
Serving idea
Portuguese

Delta Cafés ground coffee bundle

Portugal's best-known coffee brand, the one in most cafés. Brew it strong for a bica after dinner.

Tip: Ground coffee, so it works in a moka pot or filter.

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Portuguese

Bordallo Pinheiro lemon dessert plate

Bright yellow lemon-leaf plate from the same Caldas da Rainha workshop. Perfect under a pastel de nata.

Tip: 20 cm across: dessert and side-plate size.

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Good questions

Frequently asked

What is the most famous Portuguese pastry?
The pastel de nata, a custard tart in crisp puff pastry with a blistered top. It's best eaten warm with a little cinnamon. But Portuguese pastelarias offer many more, from travesseiros to ovos moles.
Why do Portuguese desserts use so many egg yolks?
Many Portuguese sweets were created in convents. The nuns used egg whites to starch clothes and clarify wine, which left a lot of yolks to use up. That's why so many traditional sweets are golden, rich and very sweet.
What is the difference between a pastel de nata and a pastel de Belém?
Pastel de Belém is the name used by the original bakery in Belém, Lisbon, which makes its own version from a recipe it keeps secret. Pastel de nata is the general name for the custard tart sold in pastelarias all over Portugal. They're the same kind of pastry, and almost every pastelaria makes a good one.
What are ovos moles?
Ovos moles are a sweet egg-yolk cream wrapped in thin wafer shaped like shells and fish. They come from Aveiro and have protected geographical status, so true ovos moles must be made in that region. They're very sweet, so one or two is usually enough.
What do you drink with Portuguese pastries?
A bica (espresso) or a galão (milky coffee in a tall glass) is the usual choice. Order at the counter and eat standing up or at a small table. That's how most people have their pastry and coffee in Portugal.
Keep cooking

Recipes from this story

Pastéis de Nata in the Air FryerAir Fryer

Pastéis de Nata in the Air Fryer

Homemade Portuguese custard tarts with shop-bought puff pastry, baked in the air fryer. Honest tips on getting the blistered tops without a 300 °C oven.

45 min · Serves 12 tarts
Bolo de Bolacha - No-Bake Biscuit and Coffee CakeTraditional

Bolo de BolachaNo-Bake Biscuit and Coffee Cake

Maria biscuits dipped in strong coffee and layered with buttercream. Portugal's favourite no-bake birthday cake, assembled in 30 minutes and chilled overnight.

30 min · Serves 10
Arroz Doce - Portuguese Rice PuddingTraditional

Arroz DocePortuguese Rice Pudding

Creamy Portuguese rice pudding with lemon peel and cinnamon, finished with egg yolks and the classic cinnamon lattice on top. Served cold, at every celebration.

55 min · Serves 6