
Sericaia is a traditional dessert from Elvas
and the best and most famous one is made at the Pastelaria Canhão, run by Sandra Canhão and her family.
Sandra is the friendly person behind the counter. Her family runs the pastelaria.
Slow cooking and a lot of love is one of the secrets to Mr. Canhão’s Sericaia. The dessert is prepared off premises in a fabulous wood-burning stone oven. The recipe has been perfected throughout his life time and one that you will cherish when you try it! The Sericaia is made with eggs, sugar, white flower and milk. This mixture is poured into open clay pots and powdered cinnamon is sprinkled over it before it goes into the stone oven for at least one and a half hours.
This delicious dessert is a must during Elvas’s festivities and Sunday meals. It’s eaten during Christmas (along with another dessert that I will write about during the holidays), birthday parties, New Year’s Eve, daily family meals and special occasions.Sandra’s whole family work during the holidays in the Pastelaria due to the huge demand! Even Sandra’s mother will help out.
You can eat this dessert with (the famous) Elvas plum and pour a bit of its syrup over it (it comes with the plum). This will sweeten the tasty dessert quite a bit so go easy on the syrup. The sericaia tastes very good on it’s own too.
Coffee, tea, port wine, a lovely liquor or a fantastic champagne!
The pastelaria is a popular breakfast place in Elvas. I see so many people rushing in for a cup of coffee or for a real breakfast on my way to my morning walks. Many people will come by at the end of the day for their last cup of coffee and to pick up their orders of Sericaias and other desserts.
The Sericaia is only sold as a whole cake at the pastelaria if you want to try a slice of Sericaia go across the street to Diniz Restaurant who buys their Sericaia from Sandra and sells it by the slice.
I asked Sandra which was her favourite and she told me that she loves the almond tarte that is also cooked in the wood-burning stone oven. The almonds are dipped in honey and placed over one inch dough before going into the oven. It is super!
Marguerite
Pastelaria Canhão
Address: R. de Alferes C Pinto 13A, 7350-002 Elvas, Portugal
phone: 268 629 392
Marguerite Beaty, Blogger, Photographer & Artist
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