Portalegre Golden Cheese

Queijo Dourado de Portalegre looks like a small cheese wheel but is entirely sweet. A soft white almond-marzipan shell forms its base, walls and lid; inside are ovos moles, fine egg threads and gila squash jam. Served whole and surrounded by more fios de ovos, a cut wedge reveals intensely yellow and translucent layers against the pale almond paste.

The recipe preserved by Portalegre municipality cooks sugar to pearl stage before adding almonds. Once cold, the paste is rolled into a circle, filled and closed like a cheese, sometimes with the help of a cheese band. Subtle scoring on the lid imitates marks left by the straw on which real cheeses were cured and stored.