Portuguese Tarts
Portuguese Tarts (Pastéis de nata) date back to pre 18th century and the monks at the Jerónimos Monastery in the parish of Santa Maria de Belém in Lisbon. At that time, convents and monasteries used large quantities of egg-whites for starching clothes. Famed for their pastries, the Portuguese Tart was created to use up the yolks in a custard. They are a staple part of the Portuguese diet and are eaten at all times of the day. With a touch of cinnamon, they are great for festive occasions.
Prep Time1 hr
Cook Time15 mins
Total Time1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 60
Ingredients
- 3 sheets of puff Pastry sheets
- 15 egg yolks
- 105 g plain flour
- 30 g corn flour
Infused milk:
- 1.5 l milk
- 30 g butter
- 1 1/2 lemon peel
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Syrup:
- 750 g sugar
- 450 g water
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 1/2 lemon peel
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat up the milk with the lemon, cinnamon and vanilla and take off the heat just before it boils. Let it infuse on the side while making the syrup.
- Dissolve the sugar in the water with the lemon and cinnamon. Heat up until it reaches 107 C. Set aside to cool down, when cool add vanilla and mix.
- To make the custard:
- Add the warm milk to the flour and corn flour, a bit at a time, over medium heat, mixing constantly, to avoid lumps. Keep warming and mixing until it reaches the consistency of double cream. Set aside to cool down to room temperature. Cover with clingfilm to avoid the top from drying.
- Tin preparation, butter the bun tins well.
- Cut a sheet of puff pastry in half, put the two halves on top of each other and roll them, along the long side, to form a log, Cut the log into 12 discs. Place a disc in each tin, horizontally, carefully push the pastry down into the centre and up the sides of the tin. You will need 3 x sheets of pastry for this amount of custard.
- Once the syrup and the custard are at room temperature, mix both with the egg yolks.
- Put 25g of custard in each tin and bake in a 200-220 C oven.
- Cook for 12-15, at which point I keep an eye on them to take them out once the top starts to caramelise. This last step depends on your oven and how high it can go. After you make this 2 or three times you will have your oven temperature and baking times nailed.
- 10. Dust with icing Sugar and Cinnamon, and eat them still warm!
Notes
This recipe makes 1.5 litres of custard – enough for 60 tarts.