This was, however, a reality hundreds of years ago, when the area of Sintra was overflowing with dairy production. The local people found a way to transform some of their fresh cheese into sweets, while nowadays cinnamon is also a prominent ingredient, further spicing up the value of the pastry.

Just like many other regions in Portugal, pastries and sweets are stars of the local cuisine, ranging from the world-renowned Pastel de Nata in Lisbon to the classic Ovos moles in Aveiro.

However, the queijadas of Sintra are the oldest in the country, and have been immortalised in famous literature, thanks to them featuring in “Os Maias”, one of the most famous books in Portuguese literature.