Encharcada is a traditional
Portuguese conventual sweet of egg yolks boiled in sugar syrup and then broiled.[6]
History
Like many other
conventual sweets that developed in the 15th century, encharcada contains a substantial amount of egg yolks and sugar.[7] It is believed that the dish was created in the Convento de Santa Clara in
Évora,
Alentejo.[8] The dish is named after the method in which the eggs are cooked,
encharcado,
lit.'to soak'―drenched, in hot sugar syrup.[9]
Doces de ovos and
fios de ovos are similar
conventual sweets made with the similar ingredients. Doces de ovos is cooked at a lower temperature in order to prevent
curdling of the eggs.[10] Fios de ovos is drizzled into fine threads and drained before using it in other desserts.[11]
Preparation
To prepare encharcada, nine egg yolks are separated from its whites. Two whole eggs are whisked with the egg yolks and then strained through a
sieve. A cup of water is boiled. To it, two cups of sugar are added with
lemon peel.[12] When the sugar syrup reaches 225°F (107°C),[13] the lemon peel is removed, and the egg yolk mixture is slowly drizzled into the syrup.[14]
The curds are cooked for about 15 minutes, then drained into a dish, and sprinkled with ground
cinnamon.[15] Optionally, the top is
caramelized with a
blowtorch or by
broiling.[16]