Pastéis de Nata – Portugal Custard Tarts are a popular Portuguese dessert loved all over the world. It consists of a crispy buttery crust with a smooth custard filling topped with cinnamon and powdered sugar as a final touch. These Portuguese Custard Tarts (pasteis de nata) are a wonderful and wonderful experience for your taste buds and you can hardly stop eating just one cake.

How to make Portuguese Custard Tarts

Ingredient

Makes 12 servings

Pastry Dough
1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon (1g) salt
3 fl oz (90ml) of water
1/2 cup (110g) unsalted butter, softened, divided

for custard
2/3 cup (135g) sugar
1/4 cup (50ml) water
cinnamon stick (8g)
Peel from a small lemon
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup (30g) flour
1/4 teaspoon (1g) salt
1 cup (240ml) milk
1 teaspoon (5g) vanilla extract
to dust off
powdered sugar
cinnamon

 

Follow our step-by-step instructions for making this Portuguese custard tart recipe. Our easy pastéis de nata recipe is one of our favorite baked goods.

STEP 1

roll cake
Mix flour and powdered sugar, and use it to clean work surfaces. Roll out the dough into a 45 x 30cm rectangle. Roll vertically to create a long sausage shape.

STEP 2

Cut the pastry into a circle
Cut the cake into 24 slices, about 1-2cm thick.

STEP 3
Roll out each piece of cake
Gently roll each cake with the rolling pin to fit the 2 12-hole non-stick fairy cake molds.

STEP 4

Press the pastry into the tin
Press the pastry circles into the tin and pour the mold into the tin to form thin tins. Refrigerate until needed.

STEP 5

Making infused syrup
Preheat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Make sugar syrup by boiling sugar, 200ml water, lemon zest and cinnamon stick. Reduce until syrupy, let cool, then discard cinnamon and lemon. Beat eggs, egg yolks, and cornmeal until smooth in another large saucepan.

STEP 6

make custard
Heat milk and vanilla beans in a separate saucepan until almost boiling. Gradually pour the hot milk over the eggs and cornmeal, then cook over low heat, whisking constantly.

STEP 7

Add syrup to custard
Add the cooled sugar syrup to the custard and beat until slightly thickened.

STEP 8

Pour custard into a tin box
Pour custard through a sieve. Pour into pastry tin and bake for 15 minutes until pastry is golden and custard dark.

STEP 9

cool and dusty with frozen sugar
Cool completely in the tin, then sift through the powdered sugar and ground cinnamon to serve.