PORTUGUESE EGG SWEET FROM THE RITZ HOTEL RECIPE | EPICURIOUS.COM

Portuguese Egg Sweet from the Ritz Hotel Recipe | Epicurious.com image

(Sericaia à la Ritz) Editor's note: This recipe is adapted from Jean Anderson. Anderson also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Anderson and Portuguese cuisine, click here. The recipe for this unusually light Portuguese "egg sweet" is adapted from the Varanda Restaurant of the Ritz Four Seasons Hotel in Lisbon. At the restaurant, an ice cream made from ameixas d'Elvas (sugarplums from the city of Elvas near the Spanish border) is scooped alongside. However, the sericaia is equally delicious served plain.

Provided by @MakeItYours

Number Of Ingredients 8

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (sifted, then measured)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
Zest of 1/2 lemon, removed in strips with a vegetable peeler
1/2 stick cinnamon
4 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350° F. In small, heavy, nonreactive saucepan, combine 1/4 cup sugar with flour and salt, then whisk in milk. Drop in lemon zest and cinnamon stick. Set pan over moderate heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture just boils and forms stiff batter, 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove pan from heat and whisk in egg yolks. Set mixture aside to cool, whisking occasionally, 15 minutes.
In large bowl using electric mixer, beat egg whites until fluffy and texture of thick sea foam. Gradually beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar, then continue beating until soft peaks form.
Remove lemon zest and cinnamon stick from cooled egg yolk mixture and discard. Gently fold 1/3 of beaten whites into yolk mixture. Scoop mixture onto remaining beaten whites and fold in gently but thoroughly until no streaks remain.
Mound batter in ungreased 9-inch ceramic or glass pie pan. Sift ground cinnamon over batter, covering completely. Place pan on baking sheet. Bake on middle oven rack until center is set and cracks have formed on surface, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. (Sericaia will fall slightly this is to be expected.) Cut into wedges to serve.
Sericaia will keep, loosely covered, at room temperature up to 2 days.
Jean Anderson shares her tips with Epicurious:
The Portuguese love of sweets dates back to colonial days, when sugarcane was cultivated in Brazil and on the island of Madeira. Portugal boasts numerous incredibly rich egg-yolk desserts, such as toucinho do céu, which literally means "bacon from heaven." Sericaia, while also traditional, is lighter, due to the inclusion of egg whites along with the yolks. It has gained popularity in recent years among diners looking for less-heavy ways to satisfy their sweet teeth.
"The key to this recipe is to avoid overbeating the egg whites," says Anderson. "Once you've added the sugar, beat them to the soft-peak stage when the beater is lifted, the whites should form peaks, then slowly flop over. You want them to flow from the bowl, rather than slide out in one Styrofoam-like lump."