Douro Christmas Bread Pudding
Also known as: Douro Christmas Bread Pudding · Portuguese Formigos · Northern Portuguese Christmas Pudding
Bread, honey, Port and nuts in a cinnamon-scented Christmas pudding.
- Origin
- Peso da Régua and the Douro · northern Christmas tradition
- Region
- Peso da Régua
- Season
- Christmas and winter
Mexidos à Moda do Douro is a thick spoon sweet made by cooking softened bread in an aromatic syrup. Honey, sugar, Port, cinnamon and lemon peel give it depth; walnuts, almonds, pine nuts and raisins punctuate the soft mixture with small pieces and kernels.
It is served cool or at room temperature in a shallow dish. The light-brown surface is commonly finished with ground cinnamon, sometimes drawn as a diamond lattice. This is neither a baked cake nor rice pudding: its identity lies in moist bread, dried fruit and nuts, and fortified wine.
- Bread
- Honey and sugar
- Port
- Walnuts and almonds
- Pine nuts
- Raisins
- Cinnamon
- Lemon peel
Sweet, honeyed and wine-rich with cinnamon and citrus; soft bread set against walnuts, pine nuts and raisins.
Family recipes change the balance of honey and sugar, the selection of nuts and the amount of Port. Some add egg yolks or milk; others use only water and retain a more rustic texture.
At Christmas tables across the Douro and northern Portugal, and occasionally in Peso da Régua restaurants or food events. Because it is seasonal, check availability in December.
Coffee, black tea or a small glass of the same Port used in the pudding.
Mexidos and formigos are regional names for a family of resourceful Christmas sweets found across Minho, the Douro and Trás-os-Montes. Leftover bread gained new life with festive pantry goods—honey, dried fruit and nuts, spices and wine—becoming a generous dish for the Christmas Eve table.
The Peso da Régua version entered the 2019 Seven Sweet Wonders of Portugal list as “Mexidos à moda do Douro” in the Spoon and Slice Sweet category. Recent northern gastronomic guides continue to record “Mexidos ou Formigos” among regional desserts, confirming that both names remain in use.
Sources: gazetarural.com · noticiasdecoimbra.pt · entreportas.pt · vaqueiro.pt · discovermelgaco.pt
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