Ingredients
Cream
- 12egg yolks
- 250 gsugar
- 125 mlwater
Wafer shells
- 150 gplain flour
- 250 mlwater
- a pinch of salt
Or
- ready-made hóstia wafer shells, in fish and shell shapes
Optional
- a strip of lemon peel
- a pinch of cinnamon
Equipment
- a sugar thermometer
- wafer moulds, or a piping bag
Directions
- Strain the yolks through a fine sieve, pressing them through with a spoon. Straining also removes the chalazae, the white cords, which otherwise cook into stringy bits.
- Boil the sugar and water together to 105°C (220°F), the thread stage. Below it the cream never thickens and stays runny; above it the finished cream turns grainy and hard.
- Take the syrup off the heat and let it cool for 3 or 4 minutes, until it stops bubbling. Now pour the warm syrup into the strained yolks in a very thin stream, whisking hard and constantly.
- Return the mixture to the pan over the lowest possible heat. Cook it, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 8 to 12 minutes until it thickens. Never let it approach a simmer.
- Use a heat diffuser or a bain-marie if your hob runs hot. It is ready when it coats the spoon thickly and a line drawn through it on the spoon stays open. Take it off the heat and keep stirring for another minute as it cools, which stops it setting against the hot pan.
- Cover the surface with cling film and cool it completely, then chill it. For the wafer shells, whisk the flour, water and salt into a thin batter and bake it in a hot wafer iron until pale and crisp.
- Fill the shells with the cold cream using a piping bag, then seal them with a little more batter or by pressing two halves together. Fill them only just before serving, because the moist cream softens the wafer within hours. Serve at room temperature, and keep the cream refrigerated for up to three days.
Technique
- The cream alone is used to fill cakes and to top pastries across Portugal.
- The convent origin explains a whole family of Portuguese egg-yolk sweets, from fios de ovos to toucinho do céu.
- It is intensely sweet and rich and is eaten in small pieces.
Substitutions
- Ready-made hóstia or communion wafers.
- A thin crêpe batter, baked crisp, in place of a wafer iron.
Variations
- Sold loose in wooden barrels, eaten with a spoon.
- Used as a filling for sponge or as a cake topping.
- With a little cinnamon or lemon in the cream.
History
Egg-yolk-and-sugar sweet made by nuns in Aveiro’s convents, sold in wafer shells shaped like fish and shells; PGI protected since 2008.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ovos moles?
Ovos moles is a dessert from Portugal: aveiro wafer shells filled with sweet egg-yolk cream. Egg-yolk-and-sugar sweet made by nuns in Aveiro’s convents, sold in wafer shells shaped like fish and shells; PGI protected since 2008.
How long does Ovos moles take to make?
Ovos moles takes 30 min plus cooling of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 30 pieces. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Ovos moles?
Yes, within limits. Ready-made hóstia or communion wafers. A thin crêpe batter, baked crisp, in place of a wafer iron.
What is the most important thing to get right in Ovos moles?
Strain the yolks through a fine sieve, pressing them through with a spoon. Straining also removes the chalazae, the white cords, which otherwise cook into stringy bits.
