Authentic Pastel de nata Recipe
Lisbon District, Portugal
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Introduction & history
Flaky, laminated pastry shells filled with a creamy egg yolk custard, flavored with cinnamon, or pastel de nata for short, is the world-famous Portuguese dessert invented by Catholic nuns and monks sometime before the 18th century. The preparation is a lengthy one, and every step should be done with the utmost care. First, the pastry is made by laminating the dough with butter — however, lard was used before, and margarine is commonly used today. The custard is made with just milk, water, sugar, and egg yolks, and flavored with cinnamon, or in some recipes also with vanilla and lemon, which has the purpose of cutting the sweetness of the custard. However, in any case, the custard should not be overly sweet. Once the pastry shells have been filled with custard, they are baked in a high-temperature oven for a short time, which gives for a blistering burn on the top that makes these custard tarts instantly recognizable. Pastel de nata should be eaten shortly after baking, so ... Read more
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Cooking tips
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puff pastry
The dough made with just flour, salt, and water, should be loose. It is laminated with butter, typically, although some swear the flakiness of the puff pastry is due to the use of lard and not butter. Margarine, with high fat percentage, is often used because margarine, unlike butter, will not burn, plus it is less prone to melting and breaking, resulting in a puffier pastry. If making from scratch,... Read more -
portuguese tart molds
Traditionally, pastéis de nata are baked in special Portuguese tart molds that can be purchased online or in specialized Portuguese shops. Alternatively, muffin tins can be used, but make sure not to use the ones with a non-stick coating as high temperatures may melt it. Because pastéis de nata need to bake quickly, for at-home preparation in ovens that cannot reach high temperatures, it is advised ... Read more -
shaping the tarts
Place each slice of puff pastry into an individual mold, then with wet fingers, press on the puff pastry to push it into the tin, and work your way up the sides — the result being a pastry shell with sides that are thicker than the bottom. Some chefs advise putting the pastry shells in the freezer for at least half an hour, so when you pour in the custard, it doesn't soak into the pastry. -
custard
The custard typically consists of three components; the flavored sugar syrup, the thickened flour and milk mixture, and egg yolks. The sugar syrup is usually flavored with cinnamon, sometimes vanilla, and often lemon rind, which is supposed to cut to the sweetness of the custard. The sugar syrup and the milk and flour mixture are most commonly combined first, and then, once cooled a bit, the egg yolks ... Read more -
baking
The factories producing pastéis de nata bake them shortly in 750-800°F (400-430°C) ovens, whereas for at-home preparation temperatures typically called for are ranging from 500-575°F (260-300°C). However, even those temperatures will be difficult to reach by most home ovens, so it's best to bake these tarts at about 475-485°F (245-250°C) for about 20-25 minutes. Actually, some claim it is better to ... Read more
Recipe variations
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Pastel de Nata
Ready in 14h 15minThis traditional pastel de nata recipe gives detailed instructions on the preparation. Because puff pastry needs to stay in the refrigerator for a minimum of a few hours, but ideally overnight, it is best to make the pastry the day before. Also, the amounts listed for custard are enough for 12 tarts, so you can store the other log of puff pastry in the freezer and use within two weeks or double the amount of custard and bake 24 pastel de nata instead of 12.
Simple Pastel de Nata
PREP 45min
COOK 15min
cool 2h
READY IN 3h
Because the recipe states the use of store-bought puff pastry, these pastel de Nata tarts are quicker to make than if following the traditional recipe with instructions for making puff pastry from scratch.
Ingredients
Simple Pastel de Nata
400g (14.1 oz) puff pastry
250g (8.8 oz) sugar
500 ml (2 cups + 2 tbsp) milk
6 egg yolks
2 egg whites
1 level tbsp flour
lemon zest (optional)
powdered sugar
cinnamon
Preparation
Simple Pastel de Nata
Roll out the puff pastry into an oblong, then roll the longer end of the pastry to get a roll.
Slice into 12 pieces and place each into its cup of a muffin tin.
Wet your fingers and push each slice of pastry into its cup, starting from the bottom and working your way up the sides, so the bottom of each pastry shell is thinner than its sides.
Once you've shaped all, refrigerate until you make the filling.
For the filling, first, make the sugar syrup by mixing sugar with some water, then boiling it lightly for about 10 minutes, taking care the syrup stays clear.
Mix flour and milk in a large saucepan, then put on the stove and heat over medium heat, until boiling, while whisking constantly.
Add the lemon peel, then take off the heat and pour in the sugar syrup.
Wait for the mixture to cool down. Meanwhile, whisk the yolks and the egg whites, then fold them into the cooled mixture of milk, flour, and sugar to get custard.
Take the muffin tin with pastry shells out of the refrigerator and pour in the filling immediately into the pastry shells.
Bake in the oven preheated to 220°C/430°F for about 15 minutes until golden, interspersed with dark spots on the surface.
Take out of the oven and immediately tap on the bottom of the cups to unstick them, then wait until warm before removing them.
Serve warm, sprinkled with either cinnamon or powdered sugar.
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