Toucinho do Céu
A dense, moist convent sweet made from ground almonds, sugar cooked to the pearl thread, and a generous amount of egg yolks. Deep golden in colour and almost fudgy in texture, it is one of Portugal's most celebrated egg-and-almond sweets, with famous versions from Guimarães and Murça.
- Yields
- 1 cake (about 10 slices)
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 35 min
Ingredients
- 250 g Sugar
- 200 ml Water
- 250 g Ground blanched almonds
- 12 yolks Egg yolks
- 30 g Butter (to grease and in the batter)
- 1 strip Lemon zest
- 1 pinch Ground cinnamon
- as needed Flour (to dust the tin)
- as needed Icing sugar (to dust)
Method
Generously grease a round 22 cm tin with butter and dust with flour, tapping out the excess. Preheat the oven to 170 °C (340 °F).
Bring the sugar, water and lemon zest to the boil. Let it simmer without stirring until it reaches the pearl thread, 108 °C (lift the spoon and the syrup falls in a thread that forms a small pearl). Remove the lemon zest.
Off the heat, stir the butter and ground almonds into the syrup until smooth. Return to low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and pulls away from the base of the pan.
Remove from the heat and let the almond mixture cool until lukewarm (not hot, so it won't cook the yolks). Meanwhile, lightly beat the yolks with the pinch of cinnamon and pass them through a sieve.
Add the yolks to the warm almond mixture a little at a time, folding vigorously after each addition until fully combined and creamy.
Return to very low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly and without letting it boil, just until the mixture thickens slightly. Pour into the tin and smooth the top.
Bake at 170 °C (340 °F) for about 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden and set but the inside still moist (a skewer should come out with a few moist crumbs). Do not let it dry out.
Let it cool completely in the tin before turning out. Dust with icing sugar and serve in thin slices.