We have a major weakness for a Portuguese pastry called “jesuita.” Its shape and color resemble the habits of Jesuit priests, hence the name.
The “jesuita” was invented more than a century ago by a Spanish pastry chef who worked in Santo Tirso, a town in the north of Portugal. It combines puff pastry with two egg-based creams. The whites and the yolks are separated. The yolks are used to make a cream that is layered inside the puff pastry. The whites are used for the frosting.
The quality of “jesuitas” varies from satisfying to divine, depending on the excellence of the ingredients and the exactness of the execution. One of the best “jesuitas” we ever tried came from a wonderful pastry store near Chiado called Tartine. We bit into this delight, and the yolks and whites reunited into a mystical explosion of flavor!
Tartine is located on Rua Serpa Pinto, 15-A, tel 21-342-9108. Click here for their web site.
Salt of Portugal 
Olá Sérgio, Zé, Escreveram “Chicado”. Tipico de quem gosta muito de ambos os lugares… Beijinhos e abraços, Rui
Olá Rui: Obrigado!!
Reblogged this on BCSBook Reviews and News.
Sounds delish!! Any recommendations for tasting these in Porto?
Is it a standard? I don’t remember seeing these, but every bakery had so much variety that I could easily have missed this.
Yes, it is pretty standard. Trying them is a great excuse to return to Portugal!
Thank you. That would be my 501st excuse.
I recently spent two weeks in Lisbon.
After an exhaustive seek & find mission, I’ve declared Tartine to be the
gold standard of padarias.
All of their marvelous products, including breads & croissants, as well as numerous, varied traditional Portuguese pastries, including jesuitas, were consistently the most marvelous.
The one exception for the best of its kind is the pastel de nata. Manteigaria wins that award, as you’ve noted in another post.
Thank you for all the gems you provide in your posts.
Here’s to delicious adventures!
Dear Peggy, we’re so glad you liked our suggestions!!
I could be tempted! 🙂
A post about jesuítas without a mention to “Moura” at Santo Tirso:
http://confeitariamoura.pt
Moura is on our list of places to visit
Thank you for recommending Tartine. We had a lovely breakfast there and the staff were very friendly. They didn’t have any Jesuitas on the day we went, but I did have an excellent Bola de Berlim.
We love Tartine! The pasteis de nata are also excellent!
I din’t know whether there exists Jesuit monks.
Thanks for your careful reading! We should have written priests instead of monks; we just made the corrections.
Wow thanks then.