Recipe: Serraduras

Serraduras
Recipe by Elizebett Rocha Bento Eslinger

In Portuguese, serradura translates to roughly mean “Portuguese sawdust pudding.” Sawdust, thankfully, only refers to the texture of the crushed cookies, not the flavor or ingredient list! This recipe is fun because you can adjust the ingredients and layers to your preferences. It’s easy to prepare ahead of time and a simple and impressive summer treat. 

Traditional recipes usually call for the whole can of sweetened condensed milk, but it’s WAY too sweet for me! Instead, my recipe uses half a can of sweetened condensed milk. Use your leftover milk in coffee, drinks, or to make Brigadeiros, a Brazilian confection.

You don’t need your oven or your stove to make this fantastic make-ahead dessert! Serraduras can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This recipe makes about 8 individual servings (4 oz in each serving).

Ingredients

• 1 container (5 to 7 oz) of Maria cookies (graham crackers or crisp, low-sugar cookie)
• 450 grams (~2 cups) heavy whipping cream
• ⅛ tsp of table salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, OR the “caviar” scraped from 1, 2-inch piece of vanilla bean
• 7 oz (~½ can) of sweetened condensed milk

Optional Toppings 

• ground cinnamon
• toasted nuts
• toasted coconut
• fresh fruit
• extra crushed and whole cookies
• jam or curd

Directions 

1. Set out glass cups or dishes (~4oz for each cup). This dessert is most attractive when you can see the layers through the glass.
2. Crush the cookies into fine crumbs. You can use a food processor to do this. Or, you can put the cookies in a zipper-lock plastic bag and pulverize the cookies with a rolling pin. Transfer to small bowl and set aside.
3. Mix together the cream, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream on high speed until it makes medium-soft peaks and the beaters just start leaving “trails” in the cream, about 3-5 minutes. It should just start to look thick and fluffy.
4. Add the sweetened condensed milk. Using the electric mixer, continue whisking until the mixture thickens and makes stiff peaks, about 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to overmix!
5. Put the cream mixture in a piping bag or zipper-lock bag and cut a small hole in one corner.
6. Alternate layering the cream and cookie crumbs in the glass dishes, starting and ending with the cream. Try to make the layers even. Use a spoon or offset spatula to smooth the top cream on each dish.
7. Allow to cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Cover if cooling overnight.
8. Serve cold and add toppings just before serving.