Torta de Azeitão
Portuguese sponge cake roll
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Torta de Azeitão is a Portuguese roll cake filled with doces de ovos from the parish of Azeitão.
Tortas de Azeitão | |
| Alternative names | Tortas de Azeitão (plural) |
|---|---|
| Type | Roll cake Conventual sweet |
| Course | Dessert |
| Place of origin | Portugal |
| Region or state | Azeitão, Setúbal |
| Created by | Manuel Rodrigues Maria Albina |
| Main ingredients | Sponge cake (Maize flour, eggs, almonds, sugar), doces de ovos (egg yolks, sugar, water) |
| Ingredients generally used | Cinnamon |
| Variations | Gianduja (chocolate, hazelnuts) |
| Similar dishes | Torta de Aveiro, Torta de Viana, Torta de doce de ovos, Pampilho, Pastéis de Vouzela, Pastel de Tentúgal |
History
The cakes are believed to have originated in Fronteira, Alentejo in the late 1800s.[1] The recipe was purchased by Manuel Rodrigues from the pastelaria "O Cego" (lit. 'The Blind') which was established in 1901 in Azeitão.[2] Rodrigues, the namesake of the pastry shop as he was blind, gave the recipe to his wife Maria Albina who was an accomplished confectioner.[3] The cakes were originally made as a large cake that was sliced into individual servings.[4] But eventually, the cakes were made into smaller individual cakes seen today.[5]
José Augusto Pinto is the current owner of the O Cego, who started baking at the age of fifteen. The pastelaria was purchased by his father Augusto Pinto from Rodrigues in 1975.[6] Pinto continues to recreate the original Torta de Azeitão recipe and other recipes created by Maria Albina.[7] While O Cego remains the origin of the Tortas de Azeitão, other pastelarias in Azeitão offer the pastry as well.[8] Another shop offers the pastry in other filling flavors, such as gianduia.[9]
Although not considered a conventual sweet, it shares many of its egg-rich characteristics.[10] Notably, the sponge cake is made with maize flour instead of wheat flour.[1] A similar roll cake made of wheat flour and filled with doces de ovos is found in Viana do Castelo known as torta de Viana is classified as a conventual sweet.[11]
