Here’s a classic Portuguese Pastel de Nata recipe 🥧✨
These are custard tarts with a crisp, flaky pastry—rich, creamy, and slightly caramelized on top.
Ingredients (makes ~12 tarts)
Pastry
- 1 sheet puff pastry (store-bought works perfectly)
Custard
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup whole milk
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon (optional, for authentic flavor)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
Instructions
1. Prepare the pastry
- Preheat oven to 475°F (245°C).
- Roll puff pastry sheet into a thin rectangle.
- Cut into 12 squares.
- Press each square into a 12-cup muffin tin to form little cups.
- Chill while preparing custard.
2. Make the custard
- In a saucepan, whisk together sugar and flour.
- Gradually add cream and milk, whisking to remove lumps.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens (~5–7 min).
- Remove from heat and stir in egg yolks, vanilla, lemon zest, and cinnamon.
3. Assemble tarts
- Pour custard into each puff pastry cup, filling about ¾ full.
4. Bake
- Bake 12–15 minutes at 475°F (245°C) until pastry is golden and custard has slight brown spots on top.
- Watch closely to avoid over-browning.
5. Cool & Serve
- Let tarts cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
- Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
- Optional: dust with powdered sugar or extra cinnamon.
Tips
- Puff pastry must be cold before baking to get flaky layers.
- For authentic caramelized spots, use a broiler for 1–2 minutes at the end.
- Lemon zest is subtle but gives a classic Pastel de Nata flavor.
If you want, I can also give you a quick mini version or a cinnamon-free custard version.
