Madeira Island Sweet Cheese Tarts • Queijadas da Madeira

Indulge in the sweetness of Madeira Island with the traditional ‘Queijadas da Madeira’, a beloved Portuguese treat. These little cheese tarts are renowned for their delightful texture and heartwarming sweetness, pretty common for every celebration, like Easter and Christmas.

Before diving into the recipe, here’s a tip: if you’re unsure about the type of ‘requeijão’ (a Portuguese cheese similar to ricotta) to use, a fresh mixed variety if cheese (with cows, sheeps, etc milk) works well, but any mild ‘requeijão’ should suffice. Although the original recipe calls for sugar in the dough, a pinch of salt might be a better choice for those who prefer a less sweet pastry. So, with the recipe as I’ve made it, and a note to myself for next time, let’s begin crafting these sweet, fluffy marvels of Madeira. 🧀🥧

Madeira Island Sweet Cheese Tarts • Queijadas da Madeira

Servings: 16
Time: 1hr 10mins
Difficulty: Hard
Rating: ★★★★★
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Savor the sweet essence of Madeira Island with the very traditional sweet cheese tarts, these are a simple, yet sublime, sweet pastry perfect for any occasion.

Ingredients

Flour – 170gr
Butter – 170gr
Sugar – 10gr
Requeijão Cheese – 340gr (Or Ricotta Cheese)
Sugar – 270gr
Egg Yolks – 8
Egg Whites – 1
Butter – For Brushing Dough

Directions

Sift the flour into a bowl, add the granulated sugar and mix well

Add the softened butter and knead until you have a smooth dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
When it’s time to make the queijadas, preheat the oven to 180ºC and line a baking tray with non-stick paper.

Drain and then crumble the curd cheese into a bowl, followed by the sugar, beat well, then add the egg yolks one by one mixing well and finally add the egg white, mix well.

Roll out the dough and create squares of dough, with borders, then add the filling, repeat until you have no more dough and filling.
Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes until they are nicely baked and golden brown on top, remove from the oven and brush the pastry with butter and they are ready to serve, enjoy!

Notes: If it’s hard to fold the dough you can use cupcake molds instead of a baking tray.

This recipe for Madeira Island Sweet Cheese Tarts • Queijadas da Madeira was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Queijadas da Madeira foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.