Toucinho do Céu

Minho·Medium·25 min

A dense, moist Portuguese almond cake bound with a glossy egg-yolk-and-sugar syrup, whose name 'heaven's lard' nods to the small amount of fat that gives it a luscious, fudgy texture.

A convent sweet attributed to nuns of Portugal (notably linked to Guimarães and Murça) since around the 16th century, originally made with pork lard.

Intensely almondy and tender, it sits somewhere between a cake and a marzipan confection, sweet and faintly buttery. The fine sugar dusting melts on contact, and each bite is moist, dense and deeply nutty.

The hot sugar syrup partially cooks the almond meal and yolks into an emulsified, moisture-rich batter, so baking sets a tender crumb that stays fudgy rather than dry.

Variations

With pork lard for authenticity, a hint of cinnamon, candied squash strands inside, lemon zest in the batter

On the Palate

Where Toucinho do Céu sits in the Portuguese flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 8

from 1 lemonLemon Peel

150 mlWater

for dustingPowdered Sugar

How it's made

8 steps · 25 min

1
12 min
Blanch and finely grind the almonds into a coarse meal.
2
12 min
Boil sugar with water and a strip of lemon peel to make a thick syrup.
Watch out
Cook the syrup to a slow, thick thread — too thin and the cake won't set; too far and it seizes into candy.
3
6 min
Stir the ground almonds into the hot syrup and cook briefly into a paste.
4
8 min
Let the almond paste cool slightly off the heat.
5
8 min
Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, plus a little butter, until smooth.
Watch out
Add the yolks one at a time off the heat — pour them into syrup that's still hot and they scramble into threads.
6
3 min
Pour the batter into a buttered, lined cake tin.
7
35 min
Bake in a moderate oven until set and golden on top.
Watch out
Pull it when the top is golden but the center still has a soft wobble — it firms as it cools and should stay fudgy inside.
8
5 min
Cool, then dust generously with powdered sugar before serving.