Portugal - Toucinho do Ceu

Toucinho do ceu, meaning "bacon from heaven"

Everyone knows about pastel de nata, or Portuguese egg tart that is also famous in Macau with a caramelised top. But there are many other desserts and treats, and now that we've landed in Porto, we're definitely going to sample many different kinds!

Tonight we went to a restaurant called Alibi where we sampled "pots", or mini Dutch ovens filled with stewed cod fish with potatoes and rice, tender beef chunks with mined chorizo and fava beans, and two salads, one with slices of smoked duck Magret, the other with Sao Jorge cheese.

Dark chocolate cake with raspberries, blackberries

For dessert, we tried a chocolate brownie cake, thankfully not to sweet or rich, and a Portuguese almond cake called toucinho do ceu, literally "bacon from heaven."

It is actually a gluten-free cake, as it uses ground almonds and no flour, some eggs, sugar and butter.

First sugar is melted with water in a large pan, and then the blanched ground almonds are added and mix it as it cooks a bit, making the mixture a bit thicker. Take the pan off the heat and add butter that has already been melted, preferably to the point where it has a nutty flavour.

Mix them up well before adding beaten eggs, as well as orange zest and amaretto. Then the batter is poured into a pan that has been buttered then add parchment paper that has butter and flour to prevent the cake from sticking.

It is then baked at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes. When it's done, turn it upside down, remove the parchment paper and let it cool. Then sprinkle icing sugar on top.

The version at Alibi included a scoop of tangerine sorbet that helped cut the sweetness of the cake.

Don't know why it is called toucinho do ceu, but there is a version of small tarts that have bits of bacon in them...