Oliveira de Azeméis Zamacóis
This home version preserves the elements confirmed by Oliveira de Azeméis municipality: a flour, sugar, butter and egg cake under an egg-white-and-sugar coating that dries into a crisp shell. The high proportion of yolks gives the crumb its characteristic colour and richness.
- Yields
- 12 small Zamacóis
- Prep
- 35 min (+ drying time)
- Cook
- 20 min
Ingredients
- 250 g Plain wheat flour
- 60 g Sugar
- 60 g Melted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 9 Egg yolks
- 1 pinch Fine salt
- 3 Pasteurised egg whites
- 425 g Sugar for the coating
- 150 ml Water
Method
Heat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Thoroughly grease twelve small muffin moulds and dust them lightly with flour.
Sift the flour with the salt. Add the 60 g sugar and melted butter. Mix in the yolks one at a time, stopping as soon as the batter is uniform.
Divide the batter among the moulds without filling them completely. Bake for about 20 minutes, until risen and a skewer shows no raw batter. Unmould and cool completely on a rack.
For the coating, bring the water and 300 g of the sugar to a boil, without stirring once it boils. Cook to 115–118°C/239–244°F, or until the syrup falls from a spoon in a broad ribbon.
As the syrup finishes, whisk the pasteurised whites until foamy. Gradually add the remaining 125 g sugar and whisk to a firm, glossy meringue.
With the mixer on low, pour the hot syrup in a thin stream into the meringue, avoiding the beaters. Whisk until thickened. Coat every cake completely with a thin layer and leave on a rack until the surface is dry and hard.