🍽️ Serradura

Cookie-crumb cream pudding, Macau tiramisu.

Serradura, meaning sawdust in Portuguese, is a beloved Portuguese-inspired dessert in Macau. It gets its name from the fine crumbs of Marie biscuits sprinkled over the cream layers, which look like wood shavings. Whipped cream mixed with condensed milk is layered alternately with crushed biscuits, then chilled until set. Each spoonful is cold and silky: the cream is smooth and sweet while the biscuit crumbs add a delicate crunch, creating a pleasing contrast of textures without being cloying. Because it is simple and affordable to make, it is sometimes called Macau's poor-man tiramisu. Today it is found in tea houses, dessert shops and souvenir stores across Macau, and visitors often take boxes of it home as a sweet souvenir.