Graciosa Covilhetes de Leite — DGADR-Published Formula
DGADR publishes this formula attributed to the Portuguese Federation of Gastronomic Brotherhoods: deeply reduced milk custard bound with yolks, flour and cinnamon inside thin tender pastry. The source quantifies the filling and pastry fats but gives no yield, water for binding the pastry, oven temperature or baking time; those omissions remain visible rather than being filled by guesswork.
- Yields
- Not stated by the source
- Prep
- Not stated; includes cooling the filling and resting the pastry
- Cook
- Not stated; reduce until thick and bake until golden
Ingredients
- 500 g / 17.6 oz Sugar
- 1 litre / 33.8 fl oz; reserve a little cold milk for dissolving the flour Milk
- 8 Egg yolks
- 1 tsp Flour for the filling
- 1 coffee spoon Ground cinnamon
- 200 g / 7.1 oz Flour for the pastry
- 1 tbsp Lard
- 1 tbsp, plus enough for greasing Butter
- Quantity not stated Salt
- Neither listed nor quantified by the source Water for binding the pastry, if needed
Method
Reserve a little of the litre of milk cold. Combine the remaining milk with the 500 g sugar and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until very thick.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Dissolve the teaspoon of flour in the reserved cold milk.
Add the eight yolks, cinnamon and dissolved flour to the cold milk mixture. Mix until even.
Work the 200 g flour with the lard, butter and salt. DGADR states only that this should become a well-worked tender pastry and publishes no liquid; if it will not bind, add water drop by drop, using only what is indispensable.
Leave the pastry to rest. Grease bun tins and roll the pastry very thinly.
Line the tins, fill with the milk custard and bake in a moderate oven until the covilhetes are golden. The source gives neither degrees nor duration.
Sources for this recipe
The quantities and method were checked against the references below. Family recipes may vary; where no single official formula exists, we present a representative practical version and say so plainly.
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