Chouriça doce is a dessert built on a visual joke: it is shaped like a chouriço, wrapped like a chouriço and sliced into rounds like a chouriço, but underneath the disguise is something sweet. This version is a dense egg-yolk pastry scented with cinnamon and lemon, served at Easter and Christmas tables.
It is not the same thing as our Salame de Chocolate (recipe on the site), even though both play the same visual trick. Salame de chocolate is a no-bake log of cookies and cocoa; this is a baked, egg-rich pastry closer in spirit to Toucinho do Céu (recipe on the site) or Ovos Moles de Aveiro (recipe on the site), part of the family of Portuguese convent sweets built on egg yolks and sugar. Most home kitchens today bake it as a rolled loaf, which is the version given here.
Serving it to guests without warning is half the fun. It keeps well for several days, which makes it a smart make-ahead for a holiday spread.
Chouriça Doce Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 large egg yolks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for dusting
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Pinch of salt
- Parchment paper and kitchen twine, for shaping
- Extra sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until it reaches a light syrup consistency (a thread should form when you drop a bit from a spoon), about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 2 minutes.
- In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks well, then slowly drizzle in the warm syrup while whisking constantly so the yolks don’t scramble.
- Pour the mixture into a clean saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it thickens into a thick, spreadable paste, about 8 to 10 minutes. Do not let it boil.
- Remove from heat and stir in the melted butter, flour, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt. Let cool until manageable, then cover and chill for at least 1 hour, until firm enough to shape.
- Turn the chilled mixture out onto a sheet of parchment dusted with sugar. Shape it into a log about 2 inches thick, roll tightly in the parchment, and twist the ends like a candy wrapper, tying with kitchen twine to hold the sausage shape.
- Wrap the log in a second layer of parchment or foil and steam it in a covered pot with a couple inches of simmering water (using a steamer basket or heatproof rack) for about 20 minutes, until firm and set. Alternatively, bake at 300°F for 25 to 30 minutes on a lined tray.
- Let cool completely, then unwrap, dust generously with cinnamon, and slice into rounds to serve, just as you would a real chouriço.
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