A garçonete explicou que a sobremesa de hoje leva farinha e manteiga.

Here, a means the.

Portuguese has:

• o / a = the
• um / uma = a / an

So:

• A garçonete = The waitress
• Uma garçonete = A waitress

Because the sentence refers to a specific waitress in the situation, Portuguese uses a.

Garçonete means waitress.

It is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine article a:

• o garçom = the waiter
• a garçonete = the waitress

A useful spelling note: the ç in garçonete makes an s sound, so it is pronounced roughly like gar-so-NET-chee in Brazilian Portuguese.

Explicou is the preterite form of explicar (to explain).

It means:

• she explained
• or the waitress explained

So:

• A garçonete explicou = The waitress explained

This tense is used for a completed action in the past.

A few forms of explicar:

• eu explico = I explain
• ela explica = she explains
• ela explicou = she explained

Que here means that and introduces a new clause.

So:

• A garçonete explicou que... = The waitress explained that...

This is very common in Portuguese after verbs like:

• dizer = to say
• achar = to think
• explicar = to explain
• ver = to see

Examples:

• Ela disse que vinha. = She said that she was coming.
• Ele explicou que estava cansado. = He explained that he was tired.

In English, that is often optional. In Portuguese, que is usually kept.

Portuguese normally uses de to show this kind of relationship.

So:

• a sobremesa de hoje = today’s dessert / the dessert of today

Portuguese does not form possession with an apostrophe like English does.

Other examples:

• o jornal de hoje = today’s newspaper
• a reunião de amanhã = tomorrow’s meeting
• a aula de ontem = yesterday’s class

So de hoje is a very natural way to say of today / today’s.

Yes, levar often means to take, to carry, or to bring, but in food contexts it can also mean:

• to contain
• to include
• to be made with
• to use an ingredient

So:

• A sobremesa de hoje leva farinha e manteiga. means:
• Today’s dessert contains flour and butter
• Today’s dessert is made with flour and butter

This use is very common in recipes and when talking about ingredients.

Examples:

• Esse bolo leva ovos. = This cake uses/contains eggs.
• A sopa leva alho e cebola. = The soup contains garlic and onion.

Because the explaining happened in the past, but the fact about the dessert is still true now.

So the sentence mixes:

• explicou = past event
• leva = present fact

In English, we do the same thing:

• The waitress explained that today’s dessert contains flour and butter.

The explanation happened earlier, but the dessert still contains those ingredients. That is why Portuguese uses the present tense in the second clause.

In Portuguese, when talking about ingredients or substances in a general way, articles are often omitted.

So:

• leva farinha e manteiga = contains flour and butter

This sounds natural because the speaker means the ingredients as materials, not specific individual items.

You could sometimes hear articles in other contexts, but here no article is the normal choice.

Compare:

• O bolo leva açúcar. = The cake contains sugar.
• Eu comprei a manteiga. = I bought the butter.
  Here a manteiga refers to a specific butter.

Yes, tem farinha e manteiga would be understandable, and in casual speech it can work.

But there is a difference in tone:

• leva farinha e manteiga sounds more natural for recipes, ingredients, or how something is made
• tem farinha e manteiga simply means has flour and butter

So if you are talking about what goes into a dish, levar is often the better choice.

Compare:

• Esse molho leva creme de leite. = This sauce uses/contains cream.
• Esse molho tem creme de leite. = This sauce has cream in it.

Both are possible, but leva sounds more like ingredient language.

The structure is:

A garçonete | explicou | que | a sobremesa de hoje | leva | farinha e manteiga

Breaking it down:

• A garçonete = subject
• explicou = main verb
• que = connector (that)
• a sobremesa de hoje = subject of the second clause
• leva = verb
• farinha e manteiga = objects/complements

So it is essentially:

The waitress + explained + that + today’s dessert + contains + flour and butter

This is a very standard Portuguese sentence structure.

In Brazilian Portuguese, roughly:

• farinha ≈ fa-REEN-ya
• manteiga ≈ man-TAY-ga or man-TEY-ga, depending on accent

A few helpful points:

• nh in farinha sounds like the ny in canyon
• ei in manteiga usually sounds like ay
• the stress is:
  • faRInha
  • manTEIga

These are approximate English-friendly guides, but they can help you recognize the words when listening.