Régua Cassava-Flour Pudding
Also known as: Régua Cassava-Flour Pudding · Manioc-Flour Pudding
A golden, dense Douro baked pudding bound with fine cassava flour.
- Origin
- Peso da Régua, Vila Real · Douro tradition
- Region
- Peso da Régua
- Season
- Year-round
Régua’s Pudim de Farinha de Pau is an oven-baked sweet presented, in the documented local version, in small round earthenware dishes. Its surface rises slightly and develops irregular brown patches; beneath lies a moist, dense, subtly grainy golden-yellow pudding.
Farinha de pau is the traditional Portuguese name for cassava flour. A recipe printed in 1913 combines it with milk, sugar, egg yolks, beaten whites, butter and lemon zest before baking. That historical formula helps explain the pudding’s texture, but should not be mistaken for any present producer’s exact commercial recipe.
- Farinha de pau (cassava flour)
- Milk
- Sugar
- Egg yolks and whites
- Butter
- Lemon zest
Milky sweetness with a citrus lift, a moist dense centre, a very fine cassava grain and toasted notes on top.
The historical recipe is baked in a buttered mould; the documented contemporary Régua presentation uses individual earthenware dishes. Proportions, aromatics and size can vary by producer.
Look for it in Peso da Régua, particularly through Doces do Céu and events devoted to Douro sweets. Confirm production and opening hours before making a dedicated trip.
Espresso, black tea or a small glass of white Port.
The name farinha de pau arose from a popular comparison between cassava root and a piece of wood. The ingredient has long belonged to Portuguese cooking: the newspaper O Radical printed a complete cassava-flour pudding recipe in 1913, and bibliographical studies of Portuguese food identify the same preparation in older cookbooks.
In Peso da Régua, Doces do Céu presented the pudding as a candidate for the 2019 Seven Sweet Wonders of Portugal and demonstrated its preparation on television. The entry was among the sweets selected at Vila Real district level. This evidence connects an old Portuguese recipe with a contemporary Douro expression without attributing authorship of the historical formula to the current producer.
Sources: facebook.com · facebook.com · aqualibri.cimcavado.pt · dl.uc.pt · gazetarural.com
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