According to popular legend, the nuns used egg whites to clean their habits, while they used the yolks to make sweets so as not to waste them, and in order to raise money for their religious communities.

When the First Portuguese Republic suppressed the convents in 1910, the nuns transferred their artisanal knowledge to educated upper-class women.

The mixture is wrapped in a thin casing made of rice paper or wheat flour similar to communion wafers.

Shops selling ovos moles usually display them in ceramic bowls or wood barrels painted with moliceiro [pt] boats and other motifs related to the Ria de Aveiro.

Ovos moles made with 63% cocoa and covered in chocolate are a traditional variation on the pastry.