Crisp, flaky puff pastry tarts filled with a creamy, lightly caramelised custard. Portugal’s most famous sweet treat, devised by monks in Belém and now copied worldwide, but nowhere better than fresh from the oven.
Pastéis de nata
Region: Lisbon (Belém)
Pastéis de nata
Region: Lisbon (Belém)
Method
01
Preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 250 °C (or the highest possible setting) and get a muffin tin ready.
02
Make the syrup
Bring the water and sugar to the boil with the cinnamon stick and the lemon zest. Boil for 3–4 minutes to a light syrup. Remove the cinnamon stick and lemon zest.
03
Make the custard
Whisk the cornflour smooth with a splash of the milk. Bring the rest of the milk to the boil. Pour the hot syrup into the cornflour mixture, whisking, and then pour this into the hot milk, whisking. Heat, stirring, until the mixture thickens slightly.
04
Add the egg yolks
Leave to cool slightly and whisk in the egg yolks one by one. Strain the custard for a smooth texture.
05
Prepare the pastry
Roll up the puff pastry into a cylinder and cut into 12 equal slices. Press each slice flat into a muffin tin cup with wet fingers, into a thin case that reaches above the rim.
06
Fill
Divide the custard between the pastry cases, filling to just below the rim.
07
Bake
Bake for 12–15 minutes at 250 °C until the custard has jet-black blisters and the pastry is golden brown and crisp.
08
Cool and serve
Leave to cool slightly on a wire rack. Serve lukewarm, dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar.
Tips & notes
Bake at the highest possible oven setting; the characteristic jet-black charred spots on the custard only form at really high heat, and at a lower temperature the custard stays pale. Use puff pastry with lots of butter layers (preferably all-butter puff pastry); that gives the characteristic flaky structure. Best on the day itself; keep cooled in the fridge for a maximum of 2 days and warm briefly in the oven.
Variations
- Add a strip of orange zest to the syrup for a fresher touch.
- Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a more extensive dessert.
Contains:
Gluten
Eggs
Milk
| Calories | 105 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 16 g |
| Fat | 3 g |
| Fibre | 0 g |
Estimated values, calculated from standard nutritional values per ingredient.
