Morgado do Algarve

Morgado do Algarve is a celebration sweet from the Algarve in southern Portugal, made by wrapping a sweet filling in almond dough. Its white surface is decorated with small flowers and fruits, and the filling stays hidden until the sweet is cut. A thin slice shows the almond dough together with the egg and gourd fillings.

An almond shell with three fillings

The outer layer is made by combining finely ground almonds with sugar and water. This is shaped into something like a shallow basket and filled with ovos moles (egg yolks cooked sweet with sugar), fios de ovos (egg yolk formed into fine threads), and jam made from gila, a fibrous gourd. A lid is made from the remaining dough, the seams are smoothed, and the surface is finished. In a single slice you can taste the smooth egg filling, the fine threads, the fibers of the gourd and the almond dough.

In one example presented by a Portuguese traditional food resource, about two-thirds of the dough is used to form a shell roughly 22 centimeters in diameter, the filling is added, and the rest of the dough is used as a lid. The seams are smoothed, a cloth is wrapped around the sides and the sweet is left to rest; it is then brushed with egg white and baked to a light golden color. For celebrations, a white sugar coating is sometimes applied afterward.

A celebration sweet and its makers

The almond work on the outside is combined with egg and gila fillings associated with convent sweets. The same almond dough is used for the flower and fruit decorations, and some examples are finished with tassels of colored paper. As a sweet placed on the table at celebrations such as weddings and baptisms, it is given a festive finish.

According to the same resource, confectioners once sometimes ordered these sweets from artisans who made them at home instead of producing them in their own shops. In Lagos, a sweet known under the name of Amélia Taquelim became well known, and it is said that her husband actually made it. The family later opened a confectionery.

There is also a smaller version called morgadinho. The fillings and finish vary by place and maker; some are covered with white icing, while others have a lightly baked surface. Encarnação Gonçalves, a confectioner in Algoz, is described as making morgados in a size meant for slicing and offering versions both with and without icing. Some decorations depict the flowers and animals of the surrounding villages.

Glossary