Portalegre Fartes

Fartes de Portalegre form a low slab enclosed in a paper-thin wafer sheet and then cut into bars or slices. Beneath the white, brittle skin lies a dense, moist orange filling of coarsely ground almonds, egg yolks and sugar syrup, crossed by translucent gila squash jam.

In the recipe published by RTP, almonds and yolks cook in syrup until the mixture parts along the pan. The filling is layered with gila on the wafer, which is folded into three. The parcel dries briefly in the oven and, while still hot, is brushed with sugar syrup at soft-ball stage, creating its pale, friable film.