I love Portuguese Custard Tarts. They are absolutely delicious! If I see them at a bakery, they're a must have in my books. The creamy custard, flaky pastry and hint of cinnamon. A match made in heaven.
I've had them from many different Portuguese bakeries but never in Portugal and I long to travel there just to have one, amongst many other delicacies. It is a bit of a process to make them but it isn't difficult and it's totally worth it!
Quick note: If you want to make a little quicker and easier, you can use store bought puff pastry. Just unroll it, cover in 1 Tbsp of softened butter and refrigerate.
I’d love to hear how you like it, so please comment below.
If you make them, please share your creations and tag @tarynstastingtable
Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Butter
- Salt
- Milk
- Water
- Sugar
- Cinnamon stick
- Vanilla extract
- Lemon
- Egg yolks
Equipment:
- Large bowl
- Pastry brush
- Rolling pin
- Dough scraper
- Two small pots
- Whisk
- Thermometer
- Jug
- Muffin tin
Instructions:
For the pastry:
Mix the flour, water and salt in a bowl, using your hands, until it starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will be quite sticky to start so use a spatula to get it out of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a floured surface, sprinkle some more flour on top of the dough and wrap it in cling film. Set it aside for 15 minutes in order to let any gluten that may have been activated to rest.
Once fifteen minutes has passed, add more flour to your surface and make sure you have plenty of space to work with your dough. Start by rolling out the sticky dough, make sure to cover your rolling pin in flour for this. Once it is about approximately a 10 inch square, it’s time to add our first layer of butter.
Brush off any excessive flour from the dough. With a small spatula spread evenly ⅓ of the butter on to ⅔ of the dough. Leave a 2cm border in order to stop the butter from coming out during the laminating process.
Carefully fold the unbuttered third of dough over the middle third. Use a dough scrapper to loosen it if it sticks, again brush off any excessive flour from the dough. Fold the remaining third on top of the rest of the dough.
Rotate the dough 90 degrees to the left so the last fold is facing you. Repeat the rolling process to an approximate 10 inch square. Once again, spread another ⅓ of the butter on top of ⅔ of the dough even. Repeat the folding process as above.
For the final layer, turn the dough 90 degrees to the left and this time roll out the dough to roughly a 12x14 inch rectangle. With the shorter side facing you, spread the remaining butter over the entire surface of the dough this time.
Using our dough scrapper, lift the edge of the dough and while scraping and brushing the excessive flour, roll the dough very tightly. The result should be a tightly rolled pastry log. Trim the ends and wrap it in cling film and chill overnight.
For the custard:
In a bowl whisk together the flour and 50ml of milk until smooth.
In a small pan, combine the sugar, cinnamon and water. Bring it to a boil and cook it until it reaches 210F. If you don’t have a thermometer, dip a spoon into your syrup and lift it, a large drop is supposed to form and as if falls it should leave a short thin string behind. Do not stir your solution, as we don´t want any crystallization.
Meanwhile, in another pan, bring the remaining milk to a boil. Once boiled, remove it from the heat, add the vanilla and lemon zest and cover it with a lid to infuse for a minute or two. Pour it into the flour and milk mixture.
In a thin stream, pour the sugar syrup into our infused milk mixture. Remove the cinnamon stick and stir it until it cools slightly. Add in the egg yolks and whisk well, strain the mixture into a jug, cover it and set it aside.
Assembly:
Preheat your oven to 550F if you can, if not, set to the hottest temperature that your oven reaches.
Remove your pastry log from the fridge and with a sharp knife divide it into 12 even slices. Place each slice cut side down in each well of a non-stick 12-cup muffin tin. Let the dough pieces rest for 10 minutes to soften. Here is where you’ll be able to see those buttery layers that we made previously.
Place a small cup of water on the side to dip your thumbs in. With wet thumbs, start shaping the dough spirals. Press it against the bottom of the tin and then smooth the dough up to the sides, creating a raised lip above the pan. Be careful as the bottom should not be too thin.
Fill each cup ¾ full with the custard. Bake the tarts until the edges are golden brown, around 13-15 minutes. If your oven has a grill mode, turn it on for the final minutes to achieve the distinctive burnt effect.
Remove them from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes before serving. Dust lightly with cinnamon and enjoy!
Like this recipe? Why not try these?
Portuguese Custard Tarts (Pastéis de nata)
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 145 g all purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 105 ml water
- 100 g unsalted butter softened
Custard:
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 300 ml milk divided
- 160 ml water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- lemon peel from half a lemon
- 6 egg yolks
Instructions
Pastry:
- Mix the flour, water and salt in a bowl, using your hands, until it starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will be quite sticky to start so use a spatula to get it out of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a floured surface, sprinkle some more flour on top of the dough and wrap it in cling film. Set it aside for 15 minutes in order to let any gluten that may have been activated to rest.
- Once fifteen minutes has passed, add more flour to your surface and make sure you have plenty of space to work with your dough. Start by rolling out the sticky dough, make sure to cover your rolling pin in flour for this. Once it is about approximately a 10 inch square, it’s time to add our first layer of butter.
- Brush off any excessive flour from the dough. With a small spatula spread evenly ⅓ of the butter on to ⅔ of the dough. Leave a 2cm border in order to stop the butter from coming out during the laminating process.
- Carefully fold the unbuttered third of dough over the middle third. Use a dough scrapper to loosen it if it sticks, again brush off any excessive flour from the dough. Fold the remaining third on top of the rest of the dough.
- Rotate the dough 90 degrees to the left so the last fold is facing you. Repeat the rolling process to an approximate 10 inch square. Once again, spread another ⅓ of the butter on top of ⅔ of the dough even. Repeat the folding process as above.
- For the final layer, turn the dough 90 degrees to the left and this time roll out the dough to roughly a 12x14 inch rectangle. With the shorter side facing you, spread the remaining butter over the entire surface of the dough this time.
- Using our dough scrapper, lift the edge of the dough and while scraping and brushing the excessive flour, roll the dough very tightly. The result should be a tightly rolled pastry log. Trim the ends and wrap it in cling film and chill overnight.
Custard:
- In a bowl whisk together the flour and 50ml of milk until smooth.
- In a small pan, combine the sugar, cinnamon and water. Bring it to a boil and cook it until it reaches 210F. If you don’t have a thermometer, dip a spoon into your syrup and lift it, a large drop is supposed to form and as if falls it should leave a short thin string behind. Do not stir your solution, as we don´t want any crystallization.
- Meanwhile, in another pan, bring the remaining milk to a boil. Once boiled, remove it from the heat, add the vanilla and lemon zest and cover it with a lid to infuse for a minute or two. Pour it into the flour and milk mixture.
- In a thin stream, pour the sugar syrup into our infused milk mixture. Remove the cinnamon stick and stir it until it cools slightly. Add in the egg yolks and whisk well, strain the mixture into a jug, cover it and set it aside.
Assembly:
- Preheat your oven to 550F if you can, if not, set to the hottest temperature that your oven reaches.
- Remove your pastry log from the fridge and with a sharp knife divide it into 12 even slices. Place each slice cut side down in each well of a non-stick 12-cup muffin tin. Let the dough pieces rest for 10 minutes to soften. Here is where you’ll be able to see those buttery layers that we made previously.
- Place a small cup of water on the side to dip your thumbs in. With wet thumbs, start shaping the dough spirals. Press it against the bottom of the tin and then smooth the dough up to the sides, creating a raised lip above the pan. Be careful as the bottom should not be too thin.
- Fill each cup ¾ full with the custard. Bake the tarts until the edges are golden brown, around 13-15 minutes. If your oven has a grill mode, turn it on for the final minutes to achieve the distinctive burnt effect.Remove them from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes before serving. Dust lightly with cinnamon and enjoy!
Notes
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