The traditional Berlin balls have gained a new way of being savored. Stuffed with ice cream, combine the usual sweetness with fresh and varied flavors, quickly becoming in one of the most sought after specialties in the region. This phenomenon happens in a new gelatary installed in the historic center of Sintra.
A sweet inheritance
Maria da Purification, known as Micas, was born in 1958 and marked the local pastry shop for decades. According to the site specializing in Lifestyle, Nit, Micas involved his son Pedro Gomes in confectionery from an early age. “He took him to the pastries since kids and quickly introduced him into this world,” he says.
For years, Micas has devoted himself to improving recipes and forming the next generation of pastelers, conveying to his son the accumulated knowledge throughout his life.
Despite having died two years ago of cancer, his mother’s legacy is still present in the gelatoria, which Pedro opened to preserve tradition and innovate at the same time.
The Gelary Project
After his mother’s death, Pedro decided to open the gelatoria with Tatiana Pires, her girlfriend and partner. The couple already had experience with the Dona Estefânia coffees, but this time I wanted to create their own space, installed in a manorial building, where he could honor his mother and develop new ideas. Managed to realize the project in less than four months.
Micas’s main innovation is in the Berlin ball stuffed with ice cream. Inspired by international trends, Pedro and Tatiana developed the recipe that, according to the same source, exceeded expectations.
Daily sales surround the 300 units and reach 400 during the weekends, making this sweet quickly in a success.
Flavors and specialties
The mass of Berlin balls is provided by a partner who follows the specifications of gelatary, while the 24 ice cream flavors are produced in the space itself. Tatiana, graduated in pastry, explains that diversity allows you to create combinations for Berlin balls and other specialties.
Among the other options of Gelattaria are the Sintra pillow, the apple pie and the cheese filled. Those who prefer simplest sweets find Waffles, Crepes or Individual Colds.
Fruit flavors include peach, melon and papaya, with vegan options, gluten -free or lactose, while creamy are milk -based. The most popular flavors are peach and vanilla, sold at 3.40 euros each.
Space and Legacy
The space is prepared to receive 16 people in the interior and 20 on the terrace. The decoration follows shades of blue and white, inspired by a centenary tile of the building, which reproduces the standard of Sintra station, one of the reference images of the village.
According to, the gelatary keeps Micas’s legacy alive, which made “the sweeter world for having passed it through it.” Recipes such as apple pie or queen cake continue to be made, ensuring the transmission of the tradition of Sintrense pastry to new generations.
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