Follow our step-by-step guide to make this Portuguese custard tart recipe. Our easy pastéis de nata recipe is one of our favourite baking treats. Dusting the pastry with icing sugar gives the tarts a golden crust.
Ingredients
- plain flour 2 tbsp
- icing sugar 2 tbsp, plus more to serve
- all butter puff pastry 375g
- golden caster sugar 250g
- lemon zest 2 strips
- cinnamon 1 stick
- eggs 2
- egg yolks 4
- cornflour 50g
- whole milk 500ml
- vanilla 1 pod, split lengthways, seeds scraped out and kept
- ground cinnamon to serve
Method
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Step 1
Mix the flour and icing sugar, and use this to dust the work surface. Roll the pastry out to make a 45 x 30cm rectangle. Roll up lengthways to create a long sausage shape.
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Step 2
Cut the pastry into 24 wheels, about 1-2cm thick.
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Step 3
Roll each wheel lightly with the rolling pin to fit 2 x 12-hole non-stick fairy cake tins.
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Step 4
Press the pastry circles into the tins and mould into the tins to make thin cases. Chill until needed.
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Step 5
Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Make a sugar syrup by bringing the sugar, 200ml water, lemon zest and cinnamon stick to the boil. Reduce until syrupy, allow to cool, then remove the cinnamon and lemon. Whisk the eggs, egg yolks and cornflour until smooth in another large pan.
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Step 6
Heat the milk and vanilla pod seeds in a separate pan until just below the boil. Gradually pour the hot milk over the eggs and cornflour, then cook on a low heat, continually whisking.
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Step 7
Add the cooled sugar syrup to the custard and whisk until thickened slightly.
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Step 8
Pour the custard through a sieve. Pour into the pastry cases and bake for 15 minutes until the pastry is golden and the custard has darkened.
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Step 9
Cool completely in the tins then sift over icing sugar and ground cinnamon to serve.
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Step 10
olive magazine podcast ep72 – Morocco with John Gregory-Smith
This week on the olive magazine podcast, the team discuss Portuguese custard tarts after this week’s Bake Off technical challenge – how to make them, and where to buy them in London, Lisbon and beyond.
Pastéis de Nata go best with strong coffee, or you can experiment and give these coffee-based recipes a go:
Cold brew coffee
Irish coffee affogato
Coffee-rubbed steak with lemon coriander butter
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Nutritional Information
- Kcals 151
- Fat 6.2g
- Saturates 2.8g
- Carbs 20.7g
- Fibre 0.5g
- Protein 20.7g
- Salt 0.2g
