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Serradura
Serradura (木糠布甸): Macau's 'sawdust pudding' of whipped cream and fine biscuit crumbs
Portuguese for 'sawdust', serradura is the cool, creamy dessert you'll find in every Macanese restaurant and café from Taipa to the Senado Square backstreets, ordered to round off a long Macanese lunch. Alternating layers of sweetened whipped cream and powder-fine tea biscuit crumbs set softly in the fridge, so each spoonful is light, milky and caramel-sweet, with a gentle crumbly texture. It is usually served in small glasses, sometimes semi-frozen like an ice cream cake. Coarse crumbs are where it goes wrong; they stay crunchy and gritty instead of melting into the cream, so grind the biscuits as fine as sand. Chef's tip: whip the cream and condensed milk together only to firm peaks and stop there, or it turns grainy and buttery.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups whipping cream (at least 35% fat)very cold
- 5 ½ oz sweetened condensed milkchilled
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Blitz 7 oz Marie-style plain tea biscuits in a food processor for 1–2 minutes, until reduced to a fine, sandy powder with no visible pieces. Sift if needed and grind any bits left in the sieve again.
2 minStep 2: Whip 1 ¾ cups whipping cream (at least 35% fat) in a chilled bowl with an electric mixer on a medium-high speed for 2–3 minutes, until it holds soft peaks.
3 minStep 3: Add 5 ½ oz sweetened condensed milk and keep whipping for 1–2 minutes more, until firm peaks form. Stop as soon as it's stiff.
2 minStep 4: Spoon the cream into a piping bag. Spread a 1 cm layer of crumbs in the bottom of each of 6 small glasses and press lightly.
Step 5: Pipe a 2 cm layer of cream over the crumbs, then add another layer of crumbs. Repeat to fill the glasses, finishing with a thick layer of crumbs.
Step 6: Cover and chill for at least 4 hours, until the cream has firmed and absorbed some of the crumbs. For a semi-frozen version, freeze for 1–2 hours instead.
Step 7: Serve cold, straight from the fridge.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 33 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does serradura take?
- About 20 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of sweetened condensed milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
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