Chef Margarida
Areias de Cascais
The sand cookies of Cascais, where three simple ingredients become something that melts on your tongue and sparkles like the beach at sunset. Butter, flour, sugar. That's all. That's enough.
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Pastel de Chila
Created by
Golden tarts born in convent kitchens, where nuns discovered that an unlikely vegetable could become the most elegant of sweets. The chila's threads shine like captured sunlight.
Pastries & Cookies
Portuguese
Special Occasion
Make Ahead
30 min
Active Time
30 min cook•1 hr total
Yield12 tarts
There's a magic trick at the heart of this tart. A vegetable, transformed. The chila squash, a large pale gourd that looks like nothing special, becomes something extraordinary in the hands of someone who knows its secret.
The nuns figured it out centuries ago. Cook the chila, and its flesh separates into long golden strands, like threads of silk, like angel hair. Add sugar, cook it slowly, and you have doce de chila, one of Portugal's most beautiful preserves. Then fold in egg yolks, as the convents always did with their abundance of yolks, and you have something that makes people stop mid-bite and ask: what is this?
Avó Leonor called these "pastéis de surpresa," surprise tarts, because everyone is surprised when you tell them what's inside. A vegetable? This sweetness, this richness, comes from a squash? It does. This is what Portuguese convent baking understands: transformation. Taking humble things and making them shine.
At Mesa da Avó, when I serve these, I always wait for the moment of revelation. The guests taste something delicate and golden, rich with egg yolk and cinnamon. Then I tell them. A squash. Grown in gardens. The grandmothers knew. They always know.
Pastel de chila belongs to Portugal's doçaria conventual tradition, developed in convents where nuns created elaborate sweets using egg yolks donated by winemakers who used the whites to clarify wine. The chila squash (Cucurbita ficifolia) arrived from the Americas in the 16th century and was quickly adopted into Portuguese confectionery. The Algarve and Alentejo became particularly known for these tarts, where the preserve is still made in home kitchens every autumn.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
all-purpose flour
Quantity
250g
cold unsalted butter
Quantity
100g
cubed
granulated sugar
Quantity
80g
egg yolks for dough
Quantity
2 large, plus 1 for egg wash
lemon
Quantity
1
zested
fine salt
Quantity
pinch
cold water
Quantity
2-3 tablespoons
doce de chila (chila jam)
Quantity
400g
egg yolks for filling
Quantity
4 large
ground cinnamon
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
powdered sugar (optional)
Quantity
for dusting
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| all-purpose flour | 250g |
| cold unsalted buttercubed | 100g |
| granulated sugar | 80g |
| egg yolks for dough | 2 large, plus 1 for egg wash |
| lemonzested | 1 |
| fine salt | pinch |
| cold water | 2-3 tablespoons |
| doce de chila (chila jam) | 400g |
| egg yolks for filling | 4 large |
| ground cinnamon | 1/2 teaspoon |
| powdered sugar (optional) | for dusting |
Equipment Needed
- •Tart molds or muffin tin (7-8cm diameter)
- •Rolling pin
- •Wire cooling rack
Instructions
- 1
Make the sweet pastry
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, lemon zest, and salt. Add the cold butter cubes and work with your fingertips, rubbing the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Make a well in the center. Add the 2 egg yolks and mix with a fork, then bring together with your hands. Add cold water, one tablespoon at a time, just until the dough comes together. It should be smooth but not sticky.
Work quickly with cold hands. The butter should stay cold. If it starts to soften, put everything in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. - 2
Rest the dough
Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This relaxes the gluten and makes rolling easier. The dough can rest overnight if you're planning ahead.
- 3
Prepare the filling
In a bowl, gently fold the egg yolks into the doce de chila. Add the cinnamon and stir until just combined. Don't overwork it. The golden strands of chila should remain visible, catching light like threads of silk. This is the heart of the tart.
- 4
Line the tart molds
Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Roll the chilled dough to about 3mm thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut circles slightly larger than your tart molds. Press the dough gently into each mold, pushing it into the edges without stretching. Trim any excess. Prick the bottoms lightly with a fork.
Traditional Portuguese tart molds are small, about 7-8cm across. If using a muffin tin, the recipe makes about 12. - 5
Fill and seal
Spoon the chila filling into each pastry shell, filling to about three-quarters full. Don't overfill or they'll bubble over. Beat the remaining egg yolk with a splash of water and brush the edges of the pastry. Some families leave them open-faced. Others cut strips of dough to create a lattice or a simple cross on top. Both are traditional. Do what feels right.
- 6
Bake until golden
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the filling is set with just a slight wobble in the center. The tops should have golden patches, almost like a light caramel. Remove from the oven and let cool in the molds for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
- 7
Finish and serve
Dust with powdered sugar before serving. Eat them at room temperature, when the pastry is crisp and the filling has settled into its silky texture. These are meant to be shared, passed around a table, eaten with coffee or a small glass of Moscatel.
Chef Tips
- •The doce de chila makes or breaks this recipe. If you find it at a Portuguese grocery or specialty shop, use it. If you make it from scratch, cook the whole chila in boiling water until a knife slides through easily, about 2 hours. Scoop out the flesh, separate the strands, and cook with sugar until golden and thick. It's a project, but it keeps for months.
- •Portuguese cinnamon is softer and sweeter than cassia. If using regular cinnamon, use slightly less. You want warmth, not heat.
- •These keep beautifully in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. The pastry softens slightly, but the flavor deepens. Some say day two is the best day.
Advance Preparation
- •The dough can be made 2 days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.
- •Doce de chila keeps refrigerated for several months. Make it when chila squash is in season (autumn) and you'll have enough for tarts all winter.
- •The baked tarts keep at room temperature for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container. Do not refrigerate or the pastry will lose its texture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 80g)
Calories
290 calories
Total Fat
10 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
125 mg
Sodium
20 mg
Total Carbohydrates
47 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
29 g
Protein
4 g
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