PASTEIS DE NATA - PORTUGUESE CUSTARD TARTS
⏲ Prep time ⏲ Cooking time Difficulty level Portions
25 min 20 min ★★★☆☆ 6
Ingredients
Pastry
• Ready‑rolled puff pastry — 250–275 g
(Traditional method uses rolled‑up pastry logs, but ready‑rolled works beautifully for small batches.)
Custard
• Whole milk — 250 g
• Double cream — 80 g
• Plain flour — 20 g
• Caster sugar — 150 g
• Water — 80 g
• Egg yolks — 80 g (≈4 yolks)
• Vanilla extract — 2 g
• Lemon peel strip — 2 g
• Cinnamon stick — 1 small (2 g)
• Fine salt — 1 g
Cooking instructions
1. Prepare the pastry
Cut pastry into circles to fit a muffin tin or tart moulds.
Press gently into the cups, keeping the base thin and the sides slightly thicker.
Chill while making the custard.
2. Make the custard base
Whisk flour with a splash of cold milk until smooth.
Heat remaining milk, cream, lemon peel, cinnamon, and salt until steaming.
Remove peel and cinnamon; whisk hot milk into the flour mixture.
3. Make the syrup
In a small pan, boil sugar and water without stirring until it reaches a light syrup (about 105–110°C).
Slowly pour the syrup into the milk mixture while whisking.
4. Finish the custard
Let the mixture cool slightly (2–3 minutes).
Whisk in egg yolks and vanilla.
Strain for smoothness.
5. Bake
Preheat oven to 250–270°C (very hot).
Fill pastry shells about ¾ full.
Bake 15–18 minutes until the tops blister and caramelise.
Cool 5 minutes before removing from the tin.
Chef ’s Notes
• High heat is essential for the signature blistered top; a pizza stone under the tray helps.
• Don’t over‑thicken the custard before baking — it should be pourable, not pudding‑like.
• Rest the pastry in the moulds to prevent shrinking.
• For extra authenticity, roll the pastry into a tight log and slice into spirals before pressing into the moulds.
• Serve warm, ideally within 2 hours; the pastry softens as it sits.
• Flavour variations: add a touch of orange zest, swap vanilla for a cinnamon‑forward profile, or drizzle with honey.
