Pastel/Pasteis de Nata (Portuguese Custard Tarts)
One of the most sought-after pastries in Portugal is Pastel/Pasteis de Nata. These delicious gems will draw lines of people in Porto and Lisbon to grab some warm from the oven. The origin comes from finding a use for left-over egg yolks. The monks used the egg whites to starch their clothes, and they needed to make use of yolks. As a result, this famous pastry was born. It is quite a simple recipe. It is basically three steps; dough, syrup, and custard. Though it is hard to replicate what we had in Portugal, we discovered we could get close. It took quite a few practices to find the ideal recipe. The oven needs to be hot; anything less than the 550 degrees we found left uneven cooking of the custard and none of the "burnt' markings so known for traditional Pasteis de Nata.
Equipment
- 1 Nonstick 12 Muffin Bakeware Tin Would not use ceramic muffin pans
Ingredients
- 1 8.5 oz Pre-rolled Puff Pastry Sheet
- 1 1/3 cup White sugar
- 1/3 cup Water
- 1 whole Lemon, zested into large strips
- 1 Cinnamon Stick Can be substituted with 1/4 tsp of powdered cinnamon
- 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup Whole Milk
- 1/3 cup Flour (All purpose)
- 1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt
- 6 large Eggs Yolks Whites well separated
- Powder sugar and cinnamon powder for serving
- 1 small bowl Cold Water
- 1 Tbsp. Butter For greasing the muffin tins
Instructions
- Preheat over to 550 degrees.
- Lightly grease the muffin tins with the butter.
- Add the sugar, water, sliced lemon zest, vanilla to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil without stirring. Remove from heat when the temperature reaches 210 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In another cold saucepan combine the milk, sifted flour, and salt and whisk. Cook over medium heat for around 5 minutes, constatnly whisking. May need less depending on pan. When well combined and thickened, remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 mintues
- Once the milk mixture has cooled, whisk in the egg yolks until well combined.
- Remove the cinnamon stick from the sugar syrup and pour into the milk mixture you just made. Mix until well combined. Strain the mixture in a pourable bowl or cup.
- Lay your pastry sheet on a cutting board. Roll it to thin it more. Score into 12 even pieces of puff pasty dough.
- Place one square into each greased muffin tin. Use the bowl of water to dip your fingers in to mold into form. The top should be 1/8 inch over the edge of the muffin tin.
- Fill each pastry cup 3/4 way with the custard filling.
- Place in the 550-degree oven and bake until the pastry turns golden brown and the custard started to caramelize and blister, about 10-12 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for a short time in the muffin pan, 5-10 minutes.
- Remove tarts carefully and if desired dust with cinnamon and powdered sugar. Serve while still warm.
Notes
Timing is essential. The sugar can't sit too long, if it hardens it can't be reheated. When whisking the flour, milk, and egg mixture you must do so constantly. It is important to strain the final custard filling, I used a strainer measuring cup as seen in the pictures. It must not be too fine of a strainer.
Do not mold the pastry dough into the muffin tins too early. It best to do after the custard filling is done.
While the tarts are best enjoyed warm, they can be stored at room temperature for up to two days. Reheat them in a 350 degrees oven for best results. Some say they can be kept in a sealed container in the fridge for a week. We found they weren't as enjoyable and in the end not eaten.
If your oven doesn't reach 550 degrees you can go as high as it allows but the custard will take a bit longer to set. The blisters are not likely to occur either.