Portugal’s convent sweets are basically an entire dessert category built on egg yolks, sugar syrup, and nuns with a lot of free time, and papos de anjo is one of the funniest-named members of the family. The name translates to ‘angel’s double chins,’ after the little folds that form on top of each one as it bakes.
They are cousins to trouças de ovos and toucinho do céu, both already on the site, but papos de anjo are lighter and simpler: an egg yolk sponge baked in muffin tins, then soaked in a cinnamon-scented sugar syrup until it turns almost custardy inside while staying tender on top. If you have made either of those other two, this one will feel familiar and considerably less fussy.
Sofia, my baking apprentice, likes this recipe because it uses a whole carton of egg yolks and none of the whites, which means the eggs left over from a batch of rissóis or pastéis de nata go straight into this instead of down the drain. It is the kind of recipe that turns kitchen leftovers into dessert.
Papos de Anjo Recipe
Ingredients
- For the sponge:
- 10 large egg yolks
- 2 large whole eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Butter, for greasing the tin
- For the syrup:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Strip of lemon peel
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 12-cup muffin tin (do not use paper liners).
- In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the egg yolks, whole eggs, sugar, and vanilla on high speed for 8 to 10 minutes, until pale, thick, and roughly tripled in volume.
- Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until puffed, golden, and just set — they will deflate slightly as they cool, and that is normal.
- While they bake, combine the sugar, water, cinnamon stick, and lemon peel in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer 8 minutes to make a light syrup. Keep warm.
- Let the baked sponges cool for 5 minutes, then unmold and drop them into the warm syrup. Let them soak for at least 20 minutes, turning once, until they have absorbed some syrup but still hold together.
- Serve in small dishes with a spoonful of the syrup, at room temperature or chilled.
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