The Portuguese cake or Benevento tart is a tart enriched with a custard flavored with Strega liqueur and ladyfingers that soak up this fabulous cream, making the dessert truly wonderful. It’s really easy to prepare, and the result is not only delicious but also beautiful to present at the table. If you love biting into a pastry shell with a delicious cream, like the lemon cream tart, you absolutely have to try it.
Let’s get to work and prepare the Portuguese cake or Benevento tart together.
OTHER TARTS
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 8 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for the Portuguese Cake or Benevento Tart
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3 oz egg yolks
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 1/3 cups milk
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- Half lemon zest
- 4 tbsp Strega liqueur
- 4 1/4 oz ladyfingers
Tools
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- Tart Pan 9-10 inches
- Hand Whisks
Steps for Preparing the Benevento Tart
Prepare the pastry by placing the cold butter cut into pieces with the sifted flour in a bowl. Add the powdered sugar, egg yolks, salt, and vanilla. Work quickly until you obtain a smooth and homogenous dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Prepare the cream that does not require cooking. Just heat the milk without bringing it to a boil. I heated it in the microwave. Combine the liqueur, eggs, sugar, grated organic lemon zest, and work with the hand whisk. Let it cool slightly.
Roll out the pastry with a rolling pin on a sheet of parchment paper. Place it in the tart pan and remove the excess pastry. Prick the base. Arrange the ladyfingers in a fishbone pattern. Pour the cream on top. The ladyfingers will float, but that’s okay. Bake in a static oven at 350°F for 45 minutes.
Let it cool completely before removing from the tart pan and serving, if you like with powdered sugar.
Storage
You can store it under a glass dome for two or three days, but if it’s very hot, put it in the fridge.
