Travesseiros de Sintra
Travesseiros are little puff-pastry pillows wrapped around a silky cream of egg yolks and almond, scented with cinnamon. The secret lies in a syrup brought to the thread stage, a well-sealed pastry, and a hot oven that puffs it up golden and crisp. This is a home version inspired by the Casa Piriquita classic.
- Yields
- 8 to 10 pillows
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 20–25 min
Ingredients
- 1 rectangular sheet (≈ 400 g) Puff pastry
- 300 g Sugar
- 100 ml Water
- 150 g Ground blanched almonds
- 4 Egg yolks
- 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
- for dusting Plain flour
- for dusting Icing sugar
Method
In a saucepan, heat the sugar and water and boil until they reach the 'thread' stage (≈ 105 °C): lift the spoon and the syrup runs off in a thin, continuous thread. Remove from the heat.
In a separate bowl, mix the ground almonds, the cinnamon and the egg yolks until you have a smooth, even mixture.
Add the almond-and-yolk mixture to the warm syrup (warm, not hot, so the yolks don't curdle) and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, just until it thickens into a heavy cream — don't let it boil hard.
Remove from the heat and let the cream cool completely; it should be thick and mouldable.
Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface (≈ 4 mm thick) and cut squares of about 12 × 12 cm.
Place a spoonful of cream down the centre of each square, leaving a margin at the ends. Fold the long sides over the filling, overlapping them, and seal the seam and ends firmly with damp fingers to form the pillow.
Arrange the travesseiros seam-side down on a baking tray spritzed with water (the steam helps the pastry rise).
Bake in a preheated oven at 210 °C (410 °F) for 20 to 25 minutes, until well risen, golden and crisp.
Let cool slightly and dust generously with icing sugar. Serve warm.