pastéis de nata

I absolutely adore these little sweet custard tarts. They are the perfect combination of a crisp, flaky base and a custard that is slightly burnt, just to the point of caramelisation, on top.

This recipe is an easy version of a classic nata. It calls for pre-made pastry, so as to save you as much time as possible. Feel free to push the boat out and make your own, but it is not a necessity. You’ll be making a sugar syrup and then mixing it into a custard, so make sure you read the whole recipe before beginning.

No matter which version you do, when paired with a good quality shot of espresso, a nata is the perfect start to any day and will transport you to sun-soaked mornings in Portugal.

Just be warned, one is never enough.

 
pasteis de nata recipe

for the syrup

150g white sugar

60ml water

1 cinnamon stick

1 lemon peel

for the base

1 roll of puff pastry

for the custard

6 egg yolks

300ml milk

30g flour

0.25 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

method

  1. Begin by preheating your oven to 290c, or the hottest it goes if it does’t go up that far.

  2. Next, make the syrup by combining the sugar, water cinnamon stick and lemon peel in a saucepan over a medium heat. Resisting the temptation to stir, cook until the syrup reaches 100c. At this point, remove from the heat.

  3. Next, in a cold saucepan, thoroughly mix the flour salt and milk together. Cook this over a medium heat, whisking the whole time, until the milk starts to thicken. It should take about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

  4. Once cooled, whisk in the egg yolks one by one. Then, strain the sugar syrup and whisk into the custard mix.

  5. Use a pastry cutter, or other circular cutter, to cut discs out of your pastry that are just a bit bigger than the wells of your muffin tray. Place a disc over the top of each well and press down and into the edges. You should try to remove any air bubbles, and have a little pastry sticking out above the top of the well.

  6. Fill each base 3/4 of the way up with custard and give the tray a little tap to knock out any air bubbles.

  7. Bake for 10-12 minutes, but try to keep an eye on them. Remove when the custard starts to caramelise and blister, and the pastry is golden.

  8. Serve warm.