Portuguese Custard Tarts
Pasteis de nata. I’ve made this recipe as simple as possible, yet still keeping that authentic Portuguese custard tart taste.
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Servings: 12 tarts
Ingredients
- 50 g Plain flour
- 260 ml Whole milk
- 2 tsps Vanilla bean paste
- 6 Medium egg yolks
- 150 ml Water
- 250 g Golden caster sugar
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 320 g Sheet of ready rolled puff pastry
To garnish (optional):
- Icing sugar
- Ground cinnamon
Instructions
- First up, make the custard. Add the plain flour and milk into a saucepan then use a whisk to beat it until smooth.
- Cook over a medium heat, whisking often until it thickens. Once thickened, take it off the heat.
- Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla bean paste. Set it aside.
- In another saucepan, add the water, golden caster sugar and cinnamon stick. Cook over a medium-high heat until it reaches boiling point.
- Remove the cinnamon stick, then slowly pour the sugar syrup into the egg/milk mixture whilst continuously beating with a whisk. Leave it to cool down.
- Preheat the oven to 290℃ (or as high as it goes)
- Fold the sheet of puff pastry in half, then roll it up tightly from the short end.
- Cut it into 12 equal sized portions. Place the rounds into each hole of a muffin tin. Leave it for a few minutes to warm up so it is easier to mould.
- Wet your fingers and thumbs with cold water and press each piece of pastry into the muffin tin holes. Smooth the dough up the sides. This may take a bit of patience.
- Pour the cooled custard 3/4 of the way up each pastry case.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes (this may be longer if your oven is set at a lower temperature) or until the shells are golden and crisp and the tops are blackened in spots. If baking at 220℃, they should take approximately 20 minutes. If you can go as high as 250℃ then 15 minutes should be enough.
- Leave to cool slightly before sprinkling with icing sugar and ground cinnamon. They are best eaten whilst still warm.