Portalegre Egg Candies

Contrast is everything: the sugar shell cracks and dissolves, and right behind it comes the egg-yolk centre — soft, unctuous and sweet, surprisingly delicate and free of the raw-egg edge that puts so many people off egg sweets. Intensely sweet but short and elegant, it melts away before it tires you.

The recipe is remarkably stable, but size and shell thickness vary from house to house: some come out almost translucent and thin, others sturdier and more crystallised. The centre, too, ranges from nearly fondant-soft to firmer, depending on how far the yolk is cooked.

Look for them in the traditional confectioners and pastry houses of Portalegre, where they are still made by hand — this is the town with the truest versions. Houses such as Sonho Doce and Sabores de Santa Clara keep up the artisanal production, and the town's rebuçados have been awarded at the National Convent Confectionery Competition. Buy them wrapped individually, a sign of artisanal production, and be wary of overly uniform industrial imitations.

They call for a short, strong espresso to cut the sweetness, or a small glass of fortified wine — a Moscatel or a Port — which sits beautifully alongside the richness of the yolk.