Eat something new every day: a sweet part!

Eat something new every day: a sweet part!

I am sure that there are many activities you will try for the first time when being in Madeira. But have you ever wondered that you could also eat something new every day? I mean, if you are an Easmus student, then probably not every day. But if you are just visiting the island, your one week or two-week holiday might not have be enough time for tasting only one speciality every single day.

In this article, I am going to share my tips on what you should definitely taste. These tips are just some desserts and small snacks, but some of them can be eaten instead of one day meal.

Sweet desserts

First of all I am going to tell you about my lovely desserts. People in Madeira really know how to bake! I was not eating these lovely desserts every day, because I would have to pay extra money at the airport for gained kilos – yes, that tasty the desserts were! Well, of course, I am not serious right now (referring to the “gaining some kilos” part). I just wish I could describe how delicious the sweet typical desserts are.

Some of them are as sweet as many people thing that it is actually too sweet. But I (personally) can still recommend it.

Picture: It seems like people from Madeira loves drinking coffe and they finish a family lunch with a dessert.

Bolo de mel – Honey cake

You can get this kind of cake in every supermarket and it is also very popular as a typical present for someone who is in a different country.

This cake is made of sugar, flour, butter, honey, spices and on top of the cake there are usually some walnuts and almonds. This is the kind of cake which is super traditional but for many people it seems to be too sweet. It is indeed, however, I suggest you buying it and tasting it anyway.

It has got different sizes, so you can easily decide whether you want just a small one or if you want to share it, then you will probably get a big one. The big one can be bought for approximately 5 Euros.

If you are from Central or Eastern Europe, you might know a cake “perník” – ginger bread. The taste of bolo de mel and its structure is very similar.

The best thing about this cake is that you do not have to eat it all up at one moment. You can pack it back with a kitchen foil or just put it into a plastic bag, and it will be still pliant and “fresh” even after four days.

Picture: a small size bolo de mel.

Queijada – “Cheese cake”

There are different kinds of queiada all over Portugal, but I am going to mention the one which is from Madeira. It was my most favourite dessert in there.

It consists of the base which is made of butter, sugar and flour and a filling which includes these ingredients: eggs, sugar and custard cheese.

It is just a small cake, so if you travel in a pair, I would recommend buying one queijada for each of you. My dad does not like sugary food that much but he really got in favour with queijada! The price is somewhere between 90 cents and one euro and 50 cents.

Picture: Queijada is my favourite, so before taking a picture, I ate it always up. At least Czech cakes which has got more or less the same filling as queijada.

Pastel de nata – Pasteles de  Belém – “Pudding cake”

I have no doubts that if you visited Spain or continental Portugal, you have seen Paste de nata or Pasteles de Belém. It is a dessert which has got a shape of a basket and it is full of filling which seems like a pudding.

It is also delicious. Essential ingredients are: sugar, water, cinnamon, cream for cooking, flour and eggs. Again, it has got two parts, as mentioned above, which are the dough base and the inside-top filling.

I have to repeat what I suggested doing with queijada. Pastel de nata is very small, so I believe that one piece is enough just for one person. But of course, if you just want to taste it and there are two of you, you can get just one queijada and one pastel de nata and eat a half and a half. But I am sure that if you do that, you will want to go back to the bakery and get more. It cost around 1,50 EUR.

Picture: Pastel de Belém (however, this one is from Lisbon).

Chestnut cake and bread

Do you know that Madeira is full of chestnut trees? Especially Curral das Freiras is well-known zone for its many chestnut trees. They even celebrate Chestnut Festival. I have visited it in 2018 and it was amazing. So if you are fans of chestnuts, go there because it is not only full of different kinds of chestnut specialties (liquors, soup, cakes, pastry, hot chestnuts (themselves).

When talking about typical sweet food from Madeira, I would like to draw attention especially to chestnut cake. I bought a piece of it in Monte during an event and was so pleased with its taste. I ate it for the first time and really enjoyed it. The taste is not too sweet and its texture was a little bit like a pudding again. However, there are many different kinds of chestnut cakes. So, some of them might be very solid.

If you are about to visit Madeira around Christmas time/ Easter/ Flower festival or Carnival, there are many stalls in one of the main “streets” Avenida Arriaga. During these events of the year, it is possible to buy there many typical kinds of food, drinks and other product from Madeira. You will definitely see a stall with chestnut products. Do not hesitate and go there to buy the cake or a chestnut bread (bun). It is one of the tastiest breads I have eaten so far. The price is approximately one euro per piece (or more specifically one euro and 20 cents).

Picture: Chestnut cake

Where to buy these desserts?

If you do not want to buy chestnut food (which I have mentioned that can be bought in market stalls), or bolo de mel (which you get easily in every supermarket and most likely also in minimarkets, there are some bakeries and kind of cafés.

One of them is Mariazinha which is a bakery where you can buy cakes as well as pastry. What is the best? There is Mariazinha bakery which is open 24 hours every single day in Rua de Santa Maria (street). And they have really nice products.

Another place where you can even sit down and drink a cup of coffee or anything else is Opan. There are many in Funchal, so you will not have problems to find one. One of my very close Portuguese says that this is the best place for buying queijada. But they have many delicious food.

I love O café da Esquina in Rua 31 de Janeiro – where I often used to go to buy queijada. It is so big and soft there. I would immediately eat one! And the price is really good because its size is great!

Picture: This is a bean cake from Mariazinha! Also delicious!

Is there only sweet food in Madeira?

Do not worry if you are a “salty” person. I will write a list of savoury specialties next time, in another article. There are definitely some pieces that I want to talk about.

I am in Guatemala right now and they have got almost everything really sugary. Even pastry is usually sweet, not salty. So maybe that brought me to mentioning these lovely Madeira desserts first.

So get some money and go to taste sweet Madeira!

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