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FijiFlavors · Elvas
Sweet made from egg yolks, milk, flour and cinnamon, baked in a clay dish until it cracks, served with Elvas plums in syrup. Eating sericaia with Elvas plums is one of Turismo de Portugal's recommendations for the city.
Traditional sweet from Elvas, Portalegre
Also known as: sericaia, siricaia
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Sericaia com ameixas de Elvas — Elvas, Portugal
Sericaia is a dessert made from beaten egg yolks with sugar, milk, flour and cinnamon, baked in a very hot oven in a clay dish. In the oven the surface rises and develops irregular cracks, which become golden and dusted with cinnamon. The interior is fluffy and moist, somewhere between cake and custard.
In Elvas, sericaia is served with the town's plums preserved in syrup. The Elvas plum, small and green, grown in the orchards of Alto Alentejo, provides a fruity, tart contrast to the sweet. Turismo de Portugal recommends trying sericaia with Elvas plums as one of the things to do on a visit to the city.
The origin is uncertain. One hypothesis is that the recipe came from Asia to convents in the Alentejo, such as those in Elvas and Vila Viçosa, and that the original ingredients were replaced by eggs, milk and flour. A researcher of confectionery history, interviewed by RTP, states that the oldest known recipe for sericaia is from Porto. What is certain is that the dessert became an Alentejo tradition and that the pairing with the plum became associated with Elvas.
The clay dish is part of the preparation: the dessert is spooned into the dish and baked in the same vessel in which it is often served.
It is eaten at room temperature or still warm, in portions with the plums and a little of the syrup on top. It is a common dessert in the Alentejo cuisine restaurants of the city.
Elvas , Portalegre
Turismo de Portugal recommends eating sericaia with ciruelas d'Elvas as one of the things to do in the city.
Eggs, sugar, milk, wheat flour and cinnamon. Elvas plums in syrup to accompany.
Served in portions, warm or at room temperature, with Elvas plums in syrup on top or on the side.
All year round. Elvas holds the Feira de São Mateus in September.
Your questions
An Alentejo sweet made from egg yolks, sugar, milk, flour and cinnamon, baked in a hot oven in a clay dish until the surface cracks.
In Elvas, the dessert is served with the town's plums preserved in syrup. The fruit provides acidity and contrast. Turismo de Portugal recommends tasting the combination in the city.
It is uncertain. One hypothesis says the recipe came from Asia to the convents of the Alentejo; a researcher states that the oldest known recipe is from Porto. The dessert became an Alentejo tradition.
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