There seem to be as many recipes for toucinho de céu as there are cooks; my simple version is inspired by the one Edite Vieira gives in her wonderful book The Taste of Portugal. She says that it originated in the Middle Ages in a convent (as so many Portuguese desserts did) and that original versions likely contained lard, thus the name which literally means ‘bacon from heaven’. Some toucinho de céu are enriched with jam, most notably fig and gilla (a popular Portuguese conserve made from spaghetti squash), while others use a mixture of yolks and whole eggs. I make this cake in small cake tins and cut it into little wedges to serve with coffee, but you can double the recipe and use a larger tin if you prefer. Whatever tin you use, only fill it a maximum of two-thirds full otherwise it may overflow as it cooks. Try bacon from heaven with an off-dry Madeira, like the very affordable 10 year old from J Faria and Filhos, available in many good bottle shops. See video below for another popular Portuguese sweet.
Serves 4–8
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