Alpiarça Sponge Cake
Also known as: Alpiarça Flowing-Centre Sponge
The Portuguese route's creamiest sponge, with a flowing egg-rich centre.
- Origin
- Alpiarça · Santarém
- Region
- Alpiarça · Santarém
- Season
- Year-round; prominent at festive tables
Pão de Ló de Alpiarça is an exceptionally moist version of the egg, sugar and flour cake. Beneath a baked golden film, the interior remains so creamy that it flows when a slice is cut.
Its texture places it at the opposite extreme from tall dry sponge cakes: the edge keeps some airy crumb while the centre approaches a thick yolk custard. It is best served in its paper or on a plate able to catch the cake's own flowing interior.
- egg yolks and eggs
- sugar
- wheat flour
Very creamy, sweet and intensely yolky, with a thin toasted surface.
Baking controls how freely the centre flows; its intentionally soft character remains constant.
At restaurants and confectioners in Alpiarça, in the Ribatejo.
Espresso or a fortified wine from the Tejo region.
Turismo de Portugal's national route identifies Alpiarça's version as the softest in the country. The speciality remains tied to local restaurants, where it is served as a characteristic dessert of this Ribatejo municipality.
Sources: visitportugal.com · visitportugal.com
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