At the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, in Belém, next to Mosteiro
dos Jerónimos (the Heironymite Monastery) there was a sugar cane
refinery attached to a small general store. As a result of the 1820
liberal revolution, all convents and monasteries in Portugal were shut
down in 1834, the clergy and labourers expelled.
In an attempt at survival, someone from the monastery offered sweet
pastries for sale in the shop; pastries that rapidly became known as
‘Pastéis de Belém’. At that period the area of Belém was considered
far from the city of Lisbon and mainly accessed by steam-boats
At the same time, the grandeur of the monastery and the Torre de Belém
(the Belém Tower) attracted visitors who soon grew used to savouring
the delicious pastries originated in the monastery. In 1837, the
baking of the “Pastéis de Belém”began in the buildings attached to the
refinery, following the ancient ‘secret recipe` from the monastery.
Passed on and known exclusively to the master confectioners who
hand-crafted the pastries in the ‘secret room’, this recipe remained
unchanged to the present day. In fact, the only true ‘Pasteis de
Belém’ contrive, by means of a scrupulous selection of ingredients, to
offer even today the flavour of the time-honoured Portuguese
sweetmaking.
