Rochedos

Alfândega da Fé

Separador

The Rochedos are clunky-looking sweets made with almonds and egg white and hide a unique texture and flavour inside. Beat the egg whites with sugar, add the almonds and flour. After everything is well mixed, shape the portions into small “rocks”. Sprinkle the tray with flour and bake in a moderate oven. We can see this production in the following short video, in which Mrs. Virgínia tells us the secret that makes tasting the presence of the almond unique: the technique for achieving thinly sliced almonds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz9HDxKrQqs

It is the presence of almonds in the recipe that gives the uniqueness of this typical Alfândega da Fé sweet, shaped by wise pastry chefs who learned the art from their mothers or grandmothers as children. The secret has been passed on from generation to generation and the flavour remains unaltered, reminiscent of summer parties, family gatherings or weddings and baptisms, where these delicacies were a regular presence.

Some argue that its shape was chosen due to its similarity to the Clock Tower, an emblematic monument of the municipality of Alfândega da Fé, pointed out by many as being what remains of the medieval castle built by King Denis I of Portugal, with the tower topped with a pyramidal spire.