The Portugese pastel de nata is loved worldwide.
France has flan pâtissier, England has the custard tart – perhaps every country has some variation of the sweet puff pastry filled with egg yolk, milk and sugar. however, the Portugese version has ranked itself as number one favorite worldwide. The pastel de nata (plural: pastéis), has a rich, sweet filling, usually with vanilla, lemon or cinnamon, which caramelizes in the oven.
History of the pastel de nata
The first recipe for the pastries seems to have originated in the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, six kilometers west of central Lisbon. The monks and nuns needed egg whites to starch their clothes and used the yolks to make sweet pastries to sell.
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Crisis
When the monasteries in Portugal were closed during the liberal movement in the 1820s and 1930s, the monks sold the recipe to a sugar refinery. Since 1837, the Antiga Confeitarie de Belém has been the only place where you can buy the real pastéis de Belém. They make up to 20,000 a day.
Asia
In the 20th century, the colonial twin cities of Macau and Hong Kong became fierce competitors in custard pie production. One made them in Portuguese style, the other in British. Now that both enclaves have returned to China, the Portuguese version from Macau seems to be winning in the most populous country in the world.
Recipe for 10 pastéis de nata
Supplies
- 10 sheets of puff pastry
- 4 egg yolks
- 200 ml double cream
- 4 tbsp granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract (optional and to taste)
- Cinnamon powder (optional an to taste)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 290°C/557°F (or lower if your oven can’t get that hot). Defrost the puff pastry slices. Mix the sugar, egg yolks and cream and heat the mixture a Bain Marie. Let the water boil and stir the mixture well until it gets the consistency of custard. Let the custard cool while you prepare the bases. Grease a muffin tin and press the puff pastry slices into it. Pour the cooled custard (possibly with a few drops of vanilla flavouring and/or cinnamon) into each of the puff pastry bases. Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake the custard tarts for about 15 minutes until the dough is golden brown and the custard has dark brown spots. Enjoy hot or cold.
Opening image: Haris Calkic/iStock