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Pastel de Nata (Portuguese Custard Tarts) Recipe

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Pastel de Nata, or Portuguese Custard Tarts, are delicate pastries featuring a crisp, flaky puff pastry shell filled with a creamy, lightly cinnamon-flavored custard. This recipe guides you through creating these iconic Portuguese treats from scratch, with a rich custard infused with lemon and cinnamon, baked to achieve characteristic caramelized, blistered tops.

Ingredients

Scale

Pastry

  • 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
  • Flour for dusting

Custard Filling

  • 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup (40g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 cups (300ml) whole milk
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • Peel from 1 lemon (use a vegetable peeler to avoid the bitter white pith)
  • 6 large egg yolks

To Serve (Optional)

  • Ground cinnamon for dusting
  • Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

  1. Prepare the Pastry: Roll out the thawed puff pastry on a lightly floured surface into a thin rectangle. Then tightly roll it up from one short end to the other, akin to a jelly roll. Slice the rolled dough into 12 equal pieces.
  2. Form Pastry Cups: Place each piece cut-side down into the cups of a muffin tin. Press and stretch each piece gently with your thumbs to evenly line the base and sides, creating a pastry cup.
  3. Make the Custard Base: In a saucepan, whisk together sugar, flour, and a small amount of milk from the total milk to create a smooth paste. Add the remaining milk along with the cinnamon stick and lemon peel. Cook over medium heat while whisking constantly until the mixture starts to simmer and thickens slightly.
  4. Steep Flavors: Remove the saucepan from heat and allow the mixture to steep for 10 minutes so the cinnamon and lemon peel infuse the custard.
  5. Combine Egg Yolks and Warm Milk Mixture: While the custard base steeps, whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl. Remove the lemon peel and cinnamon stick from the pot, then slowly whisk the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks to temper them.
  6. Strain Custard: Pass the custard through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps and create a smooth filling. Allow it to cool slightly.
  7. Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 500°F (260°C) or as high as your oven safely allows to achieve the traditional blistered tops.
  8. Fill Pastry Cups and Bake: Pour the custard into the prepared pastry cups about three-quarters full. Bake in the preheated oven for 12–15 minutes until the custard puffs and the tops begin to blister and brown with some characteristic black spots.
  9. Cool and Serve: Let the tarts cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Dust with ground cinnamon and powdered sugar if desired before serving.

Notes

  • Use a vegetable peeler to remove only the colored part of the lemon peel, avoiding the bitter white pith.
  • The high oven temperature is critical to achieve the traditional caramelized, blistered custard tops.
  • Be careful not to overbake; the custard should be set but still creamy inside.
  • Pastel de Nata is best enjoyed warm or at room temperature on the day they are baked.

Keywords: Pastel de Nata, Portuguese Custard Tarts, Puff Pastry, Custard Tarts, Portuguese Dessert, Traditional Portuguese Recipe

Find it online: https://lieblingsmahlzeit.com/pastel-de-nata-portuguese-custard-tarts-recipe/