Penacova Snow Cakes
Also known as: Penacova Snow Cakes · Covered Palermos
Small sponge cakes with egg-yolk sweet beneath a thin white sugar shell.
- Origin
- Lorvão · Penacova, Coimbra Region
- Place
- Lorvão · Penacova
- Region
- The Centre
- Category
- Convent Sweets
- Season
- Year-round · celebrations and food events
- Evidence
- Well documented
Nevadas de Penacova are small round cakes made from an exceptionally light sponge resembling pão de ló, filled with egg-yolk sweet and completely covered by a thin white sugar layer. Outside they resemble little snowballs; once opened, the dry coating, airy yellow crumb and moist yolk centre form a striking contrast.
They are neither meringues nor hollow cavacas. Their structure is that of a small cake: a low, tender dome with a fine crumb, able to absorb some moisture from the filling without losing its shape. The coating provides the first sugary snap and protects the delicate interior.
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Wheat flour
- Egg-yolk sweet
Very sweet and delicate, with a dry sugar coating, light sponge and a creamy, yolk-rich centre.
Dome height, quantity of egg-yolk filling and coating thickness vary between makers. Some Nevadas are moister within, while others favour a drier and more defined sugar shell.
In Lorvão and Penacova, especially at local pastry shops and municipal food events; Pastelaria O Mosteiro, opposite Lorvão Monastery, is a currently documented maker.
Espresso or unsweetened black tea.
The Coimbra Region places Nevadas within the confectionery heritage of Lorvão Monastery in Penacova municipality, alongside Pastéis de Lorvão. Current accounts identify 'Palermos Cobertos' as the sweet's earlier name and say the recipe passed from the nuns into the community after the religious orders were dissolved, though the details of that transmission are best understood as local tradition.
They are now a gastronomic emblem of Penacova. Family pastry-making in Lorvão preserves them, and they appear at municipal events including the Lamprey Festival; in 2025 a local version was named Best Convent Sweet at Alcobaça's International Convent Sweets and Liqueurs Fair.
Well documented
Identity supported by institutional, specialist or corroborating sources.
- tradicional.dgadr.gov.pt/pt/cat/doces-e-produtos-de-pastelaria/1094-nevadas-de-penacova (opens in a new tab)
- visitregiaodecoimbra.pt/roteiros-de-3-dias/penacova/nevadas-de-penacova/ (opens in a new tab)
- visitregiaodecoimbra.pt/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DescobrirRegiaoCoimbra_Miolo_Final_compressed-compactado.pdf (opens in a new tab)
- visitregiaodecoimbra.pt/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/penacova_poiares_final_print_compressed.pdf (opens in a new tab)
- penacovactual.eu/2025/11/15/sabores-de-penacova-brilham-em-coimbra-e-alcobaca-este-fim-de-semana/ (opens in a new tab)
- tradicoesdoces.com/post/nevadas-de-penacova (opens in a new tab)
- eubrdialogues.com/sites/default/files/acoes/documentos/049xlix_lista_de_produtos_tradicionais_portugueses_v_19_0.pdf (opens in a new tab)
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