Queijadas de Sintra
Queijadas are a Portuguese pastry from the town of Sintra. These pastries are typically made with fresh cheese, egg yolks, sugar, flour, and butter. This dessert has a thin, crunchy crust and a sweet filling.
Equipment
- Food Scale
- Muffin Tins
- Blender or Food Processor
- Rolling Pin or Pasta Machine
Ingredients
Crust
- 250 grams Flour All Purpose
- 1 tbsp Butter melted
- ½ cup Warm Water
- 1 pinch Salt
Filling
- 320 grams
St. John's Fresh Cheese - 160 grams Sugar
- 8 Egg Yolks
- 80 grams Butter melted
- 1 ½ tbsp Flour All Purpose
- ½ tbsp Cinnamon
Instructions
Crust
- Place the flour on a counter, creating a well in the center. Add the warm water, melted butter, and salt into the well.
- Using a fork, stir from the inside out until the liquid is fully mixed into the flour.
- Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and no longer sticks to your hands.
- Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and a damp cloth, then let it rest for 12 hours or overnight.
- After 12 hours, place the dough on a floured surface. Roll it out thinly with a rolling pin or a pasta machine if you have one, adding flour as needed. The dough should be thin enough to see your fingers through it.
- Use a cookie cutter (about 8 cm Ø) to cut circles, then make four cuts around the edges of each circle with a knife.
- Place the circles in muffin tins (about 5 cm Ø), overlapping the cuts.
Filling
- Preheat the oven to 365ºF.
- With your hands or a cheesecloth, squeeze the fresh cheese to remove any excess moisture.
- Using a hand mixer or food processor, blend the cheese until it becomes smooth and has the consistency of soft ricotta.
- Add the sugar, cinnamon, egg yolks, flour, and melted butter to the cheese mixture. Whisk until everything is well combined.
- Immediately pour the filling into the prepared molds and bake in the preheated oven for about 25-27 minutes, or until edges begin to golden. Check around the 20 minute mark.
- Remove from oven. Allow the pastries to cool before removing them from the tins.
Notes
Make sure to form molds before creating the filling. Leaving the filling to rest will cause cinnamon to separate and float to the top when baking.