Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese Egg Tarts)

About This Recipe

Born in the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, pastéis de nata are Portugal's most famous pastry — crispy, flaky puff pastry shells filled with a rich, slightly runny egg custard that blisters and caramelises in a very hot oven, producing a burnished, wobbly filling with charred pockets.

Ingredients

Serves 12

• 320 gready-rolled puff pastry
• 300 mlwhole milk
• 200 mldouble cream
• 200 gcaster sugar
• 80 mlwater
• 1 stickcinnamon
• 1 striplemon peel
• 6 pcsegg yolks
• 30 gplain flour
• 1 tspvanilla extract
• 1 tspground cinnamon (for serving)
• 2 tspicing sugar (for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make sugar syrup

   Combine sugar, water, cinnamon stick, and lemon peel in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil without stirring and cook for 3 minutes until slightly thickened (113°C on a thermometer). Remove cinnamon and lemon peel.

2. 2

   Make custard base

   Whisk flour with 50ml of the milk until smooth. Heat remaining milk and cream in a saucepan until just simmering. Whisk in flour mixture and cook 2 minutes until thickened slightly. Remove from heat.

3. 3

   Combine

   Slowly whisk the hot sugar syrup into the warm milk mixture. Whisk in egg yolks and vanilla. Strain through a fine sieve. Cool slightly.

4. 4

   Line tins

   Preheat oven to 250°C (480°F) — as high as your oven goes. Cut puff pastry into 12 rounds slightly larger than a standard muffin tin cup. Press each into the cups, pressing up the sides.

5. 5

   Fill and bake

   Fill each pastry case three-quarters full with custard. Bake on the top shelf for 15–18 minutes until the custard is set with dark burnished spots and the pastry is deep golden.

6. 6

   Serve

   Cool for 5 minutes. Dust with cinnamon and icing sugar. Eat warm — these are at their best within an hour of baking.

Variations

• •

  Add a teaspoon of orange zest to the custard for a citrus version.

• •

  Use shortcrust pastry for a denser, less flaky shell.

Storage

Best eaten on the day of baking. Store at room temperature up to 1 day. Do not refrigerate as the pastry softens.