Queijadas de Sintra: Sintra cheese tartlets
Sintra, Portugal
The oldest documented Portuguese pastry — a small, individual tartlet of fresh cheese (requeijão), eggs, sugar, and cinnamon in an unleavened pastry shell, sold exclusively in Sintra since the 12th century (records of queijadas appear in Sintra's accounts from 1756, though the recipe may be older). The queijada's filling sets to a firm, almost cheesecake-like texture, and the pastry shell is thin, unleavened, and slightly crisp — completely different from the pastéis de nata pastry.
Fábrica Piriquita in Sintra has made queijadas to the same recipe since 1862 and is considered the benchmark.