Penedono Cavacas
Also known as: Penedono Cavacas
Hollow golden cavacas beneath a white coating said to resemble snow.
- Origin
- Penedono · festive tradition
- Region
- Penedono
- Season
- Year-round; traditionally tied to major festivities
Cavacas de Penedono are light hollow cakes made with flour, eggs, olive oil, aguardente, sugar and salt. Roughly ten centimetres across, they are rounded and concave, with an inflated golden-brown structure under a white sugar film.
The coating dries into irregular veins and patches across the rough surface, allowing the golden cake to show through. Local tradition compares this white finish to the municipality's snowy landscapes.
- wheat flour
- eggs
- olive oil
- aguardente
- sugar
- salt
Light and dry with a hollow centre, egg and aguardente notes, and a brittle sugar crust.
Concavity, volume and the white coating pattern vary from piece to piece and between families.
In Penedono through direct sale and at local festivals; availability is continuous although their strongest association is with celebrations.
Herbal tea, coffee or fortified wine.
They have been tied to Penedono's principal celebrations for generations. DGADR records that families traditionally included them in festive eating and that they remain available through direct sale throughout the year.
Sources: tradicional.dgadr.gov.pt
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