Ok for today we have a classic portuguese Sawdust dessert, i know i know, its probably not the best name for a dessert, but once you taste it… oh my! ;D
So here’s the thing — “Doce de Serradura” is one of those Portuguese sweets that is genuinely hard to translate into English without making it sound terrible. “Sawdust cake” or “Sawdust Dessert” is the literal translation (serradura = sawdust), because when you grind up Maria cookies into a fine powder, the result looks suspiciously like the stuff on the floor of a carpenter’s workshop. But trust me, what you’re actually making is a beautifully dense, silky, milky, jiggly creamy dessert, somewhere between a panna cotta and a set pudding, layered generously with those same ground-up Maria cookies.
It’s the kind of dessert you’ll find in pretty much every café and restaurant in Portugal, and for very good reason, its easy to make, relatively inexpensive and delicious. Also known as Doce de Bolacha Maria (Maria Cookie Sweet), this is a staple of Portuguese home cooking that’s been making people happy since at least the 1960s, its made with heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, gelatin, and a packet of Maria cookies and requires absolutely zero baking. Zero! You just whip, melt, layer, and refrigerate.
You can make it in 20 minutes, you just need the time to set it in the fridge, also for this version I used the Bolacha Maria Ouro variety (a slightly more buttery version of the classic Maria cookie, but you can use the plain Maria cookie instead), and heavy cream whipped until super stiff and solid, that extra effort on the whipping is what gives the final cream that lovely light, airy quality that makes it so irresistible. Don’t skip it! Finally the gelatin here is what gives it that slightly firmer, more set texture, somewhere between a fluffy whipped cream and a classic pudding. If you prefer it creamier and fluffier, you can leave out the gelatin, but then you’ll need to whip those cream peaks very, very well to keep everything together. So let’s check the recipe!
No-Bake Portuguese Layered Cookie Cream Dessert • Doce de Serradura
Don't let the name fool you, this is pure Portuguese jiggly magic made in a jiffy! ;D
Ingredients
- Cream – 2 packs (+/- 400ml)
- Condensed milk – 1 can (+/- 400ml)
- Gelatin – 4 sheets
- Milk – 3 tablespoons
- Maria Ouro Cookies – 1 pack (+/- 200gr)
Directions
- Start by whipping the cold cream until thick and stiff, then add the condensed milk and whip a little more until everything is well incorporated.
- Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water until they are very soft.
- Heat the milk slightly, then add the gelatin sheets until they are completely dissolved and set aside to cool slightly.
- Crush the Maria cookies until you have a fine powder.
- When the milk has cooled slightly, add it to the cream and condensed milk mixture and mix well until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Finally, assemble in layers, starting with cookies, then a little cream, then more cookies, then more cream, and finally the rest of the cookies on top.
- Refrigerate for a couple of hours to set, preferably overnight, and that’s it, bon appétit!
This recipe uses sheet gelatin (leaf gelatin), which is the standard in Portugal and Europe. If you can only find powdered gelatin in the US, use about 1 teaspoon (roughly 3-4g / 0.14 oz) of powdered gelatin instead, bloomed in 3 tablespoons of cold water for 5 minutes, then dissolved. The gelatin is what gives this dessert that firmer, set texture, without it, you’d need very stiff whipped cream to keep everything from collapsing.
Some versions of this dessert don’t use gelatin at all and actually, some Portuguese cooks argue the original recipe never had it! Without gelatin, the result is fluffier and creamier, more like a classic whipped cream dessert. But with it, you get something denser and more set, almost like a sliceable pudding. Both are delicious, but they’re slightly different experiences and i kinda prefer the gelatin one!
Maria cookies (Bolacha Maria) are a classic Portuguese and Spanish biscuit/cookie, lightly sweet, dry, and plain, similar to a British digestive biscuit but thinner and crisper. You can find them in international grocery stores, online, or substitute with digestive biscuits, graham crackers, or even vanilla wafers in a pinch. The Ouro (Gold) version used here is slightly more buttery and a little richer, worth tracking down if you can!
This dessert is actually better made the night before, leaving it in the fridge overnight gives it time to fully set and lets the cookie layers soften slightly into the cream, which is absolutely wonderful. It keeps well for 2-3 days in the fridge.
Leave it in the freezer and it becomes almost like an ice cream cake, a brilliant summer variation, as one reader discovered back in the 1960s! Just let it thaw for a few minutes before serving.
You can add some crushed maria cookies just before serving if you want some added crunch, also these also work beautifully in small serving dishes instead of a big tray!
PS: This recipe was made by me like 12 years ago, so yeah the photos aren’t amazing, but the recipe was as good then as it is now! So better to share now then wait until I can make it again and take nicer photos hehehe! ;D
This recipe for No-Bake Portuguese Layered Cookie Cream Dessert • Doce de Serradura was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Doce de Bolacha Maria foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.
Nutrition
Per Serving: 246 calories; 13 g fat; 28.5 g carbohydrates; 3.4 g protein.Did you try this recipe?
Let me know how it turned out for you! You can leave a comment below ;D Uh also do you like me sharing these older recipes? Or should i keep with just the new stuff? 😛
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