Portuguese Travesseiro (Almond Pastry Pillow)
A crispy phyllo pastry pillow filled with a sweet almond and egg cream, dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar. These traditional Portuguese treats are baked until golden and are perfect with coffee or tea.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Servings
- 4
- Calories
- 385
- Protein
- 8g
Ingredients
- 8 sheets (about 1/4 lb package) phyllo dough sheets
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup almond paste
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- 1
Set the oven to 375°F and wait until the indicator light or beep tells you it has finished heating, about 10 minutes.
- 2
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar together using a fork until the mixture is pale yellow and uniform, about 1 minute.
- 3
Add the 0.5 cup of almond paste to the egg mixture and stir using a wooden spoon until no streaks of almond paste remain and the filling looks smooth, about 2 minutes.
- 4
Place one phyllo sheet on a clean, dry cutting board and brush the entire surface lightly with melted butter using a pastry brush until it glistens.
- 5
Lay a second phyllo sheet directly on top of the buttered first sheet, then brush this top sheet with melted butter the same way.
- 6
Spoon half of the almond filling onto the center of the layered phyllo in a thick line, leaving a 2-inch border on all sides.
- 7
Fold the left edge of the phyllo over the filling, then fold the right edge over, overlapping slightly in the center to create a pillow shape.
- 8
Slide the pastry pillow onto a baking sheet, then repeat steps 4–7 with the remaining 4 phyllo sheets and remaining almond filling to make a second pastry.
- 9
Brush the top of each pastry pillow lightly with any remaining melted butter until the surface glistens.
- 10
Place the baking sheet in the preheated 375°F oven and bake until the pastry turns the color of warm honey with darker golden edges, about 12–15 minutes.
- 11
Remove the baking sheet from the oven using oven mitts and let the pastries cool on the sheet for 3 minutes so they firm up slightly.
- 12
Mix the 0.5 teaspoon of ground cinnamon with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar in a small bowl, stirring with a fork until uniform.
- 13
Dust the top of each pastry pillow generously with the cinnamon-sugar mixture using a fine-mesh sieve or by sprinkling with a spoon.
Tools you’ll need
- oven
- medium bowl
- fork
- wooden spoon
- cutting board
- pastry brush
- baking sheet
- oven mitts
- small bowl
- fine-mesh sieve
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