I was that Mudcatter. The Portuguese tarts vary slightly from one bakery to the next, but if you find a good one you are halfway to heaven. Sadly, they are not easy to make.

Another delicacy we discovered in Madeira was pitanga jam, made from the fruits of the Surinam cherry (not a true cherry...)...or just pitanga. I've never seen it anywhere else. I smuggled some seeds back four years ago and I now have four pathetically small pitanga plants in pots. The Cornish climate is useless for growing pitanga. I hear that it's a nuisance weed in some hot countries. Get your hands on a few kilos of pitanga fruit if you ever see them and make jam. You won't taste a better jam.