Cabeção Natércias: Alentejo Christmas Sweet

Cabeção natércias combine milk, eggs, sugar, butter and flour in a runny batter, portioned into small moulds. In the oven, their edges turn golden while the inside remains moist; they are finished with sugar and cinnamon.

The Alentejo Gastronomic Guide records this recipe in Cabeção, in the municipality of Mora, and associates it with Christmas and Carnival.

Estimated yield: about 24 small natércias, depending on the mould capacity.
Preparation: about 20 minutes.
Oven: approximately 35 to 45 minutes per batch.
Resting in the moulds: about 10 minutes.
Estimated total time: 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes, assuming one batch, plus time to cool completely.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 500 g sugar
• 100 g plain wheat flour
• 500 ml milk
• 50 g butter
• Butter, as needed, for greasing the moulds
• Flour, as needed, for dusting the moulds
• Icing sugar and ground cinnamon, as needed, for dusting at the end

Equipment: small metal moulds with a capacity of about 60 ml and a tray large enough to hold them without them touching.

Preparation

1. Prepare the moulds and oven.
   Preheat the oven to 180 °C, without the fan. Carefully grease the bottom and sides of the moulds with butter, dust with flour and shake off the excess. Arrange them on a tray, leaving some space between them. Melt the 50 g of butter over low heat and leave to cool slightly, without letting it brown.
2. Beat the eggs with the sugar.
   In a large bowl, beat the 3 eggs with the 500 g of sugar for about 2 to 3 minutes, until evenly combined.
3. Add the milk, butter and flour.
   Gradually add the milk, stirring, then add the melted, lukewarm butter. Add the sifted flour in small batches, whisking until no lumps remain. The mixture will be runny.
4. Portion into the moulds.
   Gently stir the batter before portioning it out and fill each mould three-quarters full. If they do not all fit in one batch, cover the remaining batter and refrigerate it, then stir it again before filling the next moulds.
5. Bake until the centre is firm.
   Place the tray on the middle rack of the oven for about 35 to 45 minutes. Start checking after 30 minutes: the edges should be golden and the centre firm, with no liquid mixture. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out without any raw batter, although it may be slightly moist. If the top browns before the inside is cooked, cover it loosely with aluminium foil and continue baking, checking every 5 minutes.
6. Unmould and finish with cinnamon.
   Remove from the oven and leave to rest in the moulds for about 10 minutes. Run a small, thin spatula around the edge without tearing the sweets, then carefully unmould. Sprinkle with a little sugar and cinnamon and leave to cool completely on a wire rack before placing on a serving platter.

Tips for getting natércias just right

Use moulds of a similar size in the same batch. If you use both deep and shallow moulds, remove the natércias that are already cooked individually, without waiting for them all to finish at the same time.

Pairing and dessert table

Serve a small glass of Foral de Évora Branco Colheita Tardia 2016 – DOC Alentejo–Évora, at 10 to 12 °C. The wine’s sweetness and acidity complement the milk and egg centre and cinnamon finish.

To complete the table, add a platter of Honey Biscuits, with the fragrance of honey and cinnamon.

Preparing ahead and storage

After baking, unmould, leave to cool on a wire rack and store the natércias covered in the refrigerator, without leaving them at room temperature for several hours. Place them in a container without compressing them and take out only the amount you are going to serve.

Frequently asked questions

The batter is very runny. Should I add more flour?

No. The mixture is runny; check the measurements and mix until there are no lumps.

Do natércias contain baking powder?

No. Use plain flour.

The natércias stick to the moulds. How do I remove them?

Leave them to rest for about 10 minutes and first loosen the edges with a thin spatula. If they are still too fragile to remove whole, wait a little longer. For the next batch, add more butter to the bottom and corners, and dust the entire inside surface with flour.

More Alentejo Christmas sweets

For another cinnamon milk sweet, discover Alcáçovas Rice Pudding Without Eggs.

Source and adaptations

Carta Gastronómica do Alentejo (2013), page 267, record 0173, “Natércias”, Cabeção, Mora. Interview with Emília Maria Jacinto Rosa Berreichão, by Adelaide Martins, Leader-Sor, in 2012.

The capacity of the moulds, temperature, and baking, unmoulding and storage instructions are adaptations for a home kitchen. Yield and times are estimates.

Illustrative image generated by artificial intelligence.