Portuguese Custard Tarts
Portugal's most famous pastry, with crispy puff pastry and creamy egg custard. A recipe that originated in the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon.
📖 The Story
Before the 18th century, monks at the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém created this iconic pastry. At the time, convents used large quantities of egg whites to starch religious habits, leaving the yolks to make sweets. After the 1834 Liberal Revolution, monasteries were shut down and the monks sold the recipe to a nearby sugar refinery. In 1837, Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém opened, still producing the "original" tarts today using a secret recipe known only to a few master pastry chefs. In 2011, the pastel de nata was voted one of Portugal's Seven Gastronomic Wonders.
🧺 Ingredients
- 1 sheet of puff pastry
- 6 egg yolks
- 200g sugar
- 40g flour
- 500ml milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Ground cinnamon for dusting
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 250°C (480°F).
- 2
Heat the milk with the lemon zest and cinnamon stick until boiling. Set aside.
- 3
In a bowl, mix the sugar and flour. Add the egg yolks and stir well.
- 4
Remove the lemon zest and cinnamon from the milk. Pour the hot milk over the egg mixture, stirring constantly.
- 5
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Let cool.
- 6
Grease custard tart molds. Line with rolled-out puff pastry.
- 7
Pour the custard into the lined molds.
- 8
Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden with dark spots.
- 9
Dust with cinnamon and serve warm or cold.