This year, Easter falls on Sunday, April 20th, so there’s relatively little time left until the holiday. In the meantime, the Portuguese are starting to think about how to ‘adorn’ the table with food and sweets, and tradition dictates that sponge cake and folar should not be missing.
And, at the end of March, we ‘discovered’ that the best sponge cake in Portugal is right here near Porto. Where? In the parish of Grijó, in the municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia and therefore just a few minutes’ drive from the city of Porto. But we’ll tell you all about it in a moment.
The best national sponge cake
The Association of Trade and Industry of Bakery, Pastry and Similar Products (ACIP) recently held a competition to determine the best in the country.
First place on the podium went to Padaria Flor de Grijó, from the municipality of Gaia, in the category of best sponge cake.
However, this was not the only distinction for the spot from Gaia, which also won in the Salted Puff Pastry and Bôlas section.
Top 3 nationally
According to the official ACIPwebsite, these are officially the three places that stand out for the excellence of their sponge cake:
- Padaria Flor de Grijó, Gaia
- Espaço das Natas, Guimarães
- Dias Bakery in Tortosendo, Covilhã
The best moist sponge cake category
For those who prefer their sponge cake moist, here are the three best spots:
- Mina da Estação, in São João da Madeira
- Tertúlia dos Sabores, in Coimbra
- Flor de Grijó Bakery, in Gaia
And where can you find the best folar?
Easter that is Easter must include a folar on the table. Therefore, the ACIP initiative also evaluated the best in this category, and these are the winners:
- Pastelaria Moinho Velho, Coimbra
- Raposeira Bakery, Chaves
- Nata de Morango, Pontinha