Fig-and-Almond Stars — Santa Rita Formula Collected by CCDR Algarve (2005)

Name: Fig-and-Almond Stars — Santa Rita Formula Collected by CCDR Algarve (2005)
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 15 pieces
Cuisine: Portuguese
Ingredients: 1 kg / 2.2 lb Almonds; the list says skinned although the first step directs scalding and skinning; 30 Dried white figs of similar size; 2 tablespoons; volume not defined Chocolate powder; as needed; unquantified processing aid Boiling water for scalding

CCDR Algarve published this formula from D.ª Margarete of Santa Rita in a 2005 regional collection: thirty dried white figs, one kilogram / 2.2 pounds of almonds and two tablespoons of chocolate powder for fifteen stars. The source calls for about thirty minutes at ‘moderate heat’, turning once, but does not translate that heat into a temperature.

Yields: 15 pieces
Prep: Not stated
Cook: About 30 minutes

Difficulty

Read about Fig Stars →

Ingredients

1 kg / 2.2 lb Almonds; the list says skinned although the first step directs scalding and skinning
30 Dried white figs of similar size
2 tablespoons; volume not defined Chocolate powder
as needed; unquantified processing aid Boiling water for scalding

Method

Prepare baking parchment as a work surface and an oven tray. The source specifies no dimensions, material, greasing or preheating.
Scald the almonds and remove their skins. The ingredient list already calls them skinned; this page preserves the contradiction rather than silently choosing one reading.
Remove each fig’s stalk and cut it in a cross, forming four points without separating them completely.
Flatten the figs and place them skin-side down on the baking parchment.
Dust the figs with the two tablespoons of chocolate powder. The source does not specify an amount per fig or whether every surface is dusted.
Join the figs in pairs with the dusted faces inward to form fifteen pieces.
Insert almonds where the cuts meet, with their points facing outward, and press each assembly well so they do not come loose. The source does not quantify the almonds used per star or explain the fate of any remainder from the listed kilogram / 2.2 pounds.
Place the stars on the tray and bake at ‘moderate heat’ for about 30 minutes, turning once, until golden. The source gives no temperature, exact turning point or objective colour.
Remove from the oven. The collection publishes no cooling, packaging or storage directions.

Baker's tips

This is the Santa Rita formula published in 2005, not an average assembled from modern recipes.
DGADR defines the Algarve identity with Cotio fig, almonds at the points and toasting, while allowing fennel. The Santa Rita formula uses white figs and chocolate; those differences remain attributed to their respective sources.
One kilogram / 2.2 pounds of almonds for fifteen stars appears to exceed the number visible in the method, but the source neither corrects nor explains it. We do not reduce it without evidence.
‘Moderate heat’ is not a reproducible temperature, and ovens toast figs and almonds at different rates. Record your oven and watch the first trial continuously.
Use a small stable knife, cut away from your fingers, and stop before separating the four points.
Dried fig and chocolate darken quickly; ‘golden’ is the only published endpoint. We do not invent a colour, internal temperature or weight loss.
The source establishes neither water activity nor storage life. Cool under protection and follow current food-safety guidance; that is modern caution, not part of the collected recipe.

Documentary basis

Sources for this recipe

Well documented

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.

Read the editorial policy →

Ingredients

Method

Sources for this recipe

Related recipes