An easy recipe for Pastéis de Nata with ready made puff pastry, plus where to find the best traditional Portuguese custard tarts in Paris.
Your recipe is my favourite go to recipe for these and never last long when I've family around! - Sue
Where did Pastéis de Nata Originate?
Monks at Lisbon's Jerónimos Monastery in the Belém district created Pastéis de Nata (also called Pastéis de Belém) before the 18th century. They were quite the top pastry chefs, finding this way of using up leftover egg yolks after starching clothes with large quantities of egg whites.
From Portugal, these egg custard tarts spread fast across the Lusosphere - Brazil, Cape Verde, Goa and Macau - and beyond. They're to Lisbon what macarons are to Paris. In fact, my first Chinese-style nata found me at Jing Fong in New York; writer Ann Mah and I waved down the trolley, tasted one for research, and realised they're very similar.
More Custard Tarts from France
Although Portugal is the country where the most popular custard tarts are from, there's also a delicious French apple custard tart from Alsace, much like a Tarte Normande, another name for a custard tart in France. Although fabulous with apples, it's not the same!
Pastry for Portuguese Custard Tarts
I love making an easy version of Portuguese egg tarts at home - and cheat using ready-made puff pastry. Use a good quality all-butter puff pastry for best results - either defrosted (here in France, Picard do a good frozen puff), or ready-rolled (these are in packets of 230g and so easy to use).
Top Tip: In France, the best is to ask your local boulangerie (bakery) for their homemade puff pastry. They don't mind selling it, as long as you order in advance.
If not ready-rolled, just roll out the pastry to 3-5mm thickness and cut out your circles according to the recipe below.
Baking Pastéis de Natas
One factor that's not easy to control is the traditional extra hot oven needed to make traditional sized custard tarts more genuine looking. As not all of our home kitchen ovens can go up as high as professional ovens to give them that beautifully scorched look, put it as high as you can - and keep an eye on them!
I'd suggest 7-10 minutes if it's very hot, otherwise for about 10-15 minutes.
How to Make Pastéis de Nata
Recipe originally inspired by Denise Browning at EasyandDelish, who adapted it from the cookbook, "Cozinha Tradicional Porguguesa". I reduced the sugar, adding lemon zest, vanilla powder and use ready-made puff pastry.
Makes 10-12 tartlets (using 2x 6-cavity non-stick muffin moulds @ 7cm diameter). If you prefer to use a cinnamon stick, add with the lemon zest and then discard later together (see recipe card below).
- Whisk yolks, sugar, cornflour, vanilla and cinnamon powder to a smooth paste. Stream in the milk; whisk smooth. Stir in a few strips of lemon zest.
- Cook over medium heat, whisking nonstop, until thick and just bubbling. Off the heat, press cling film onto the surface; cool. Fish out the zest.
- Preheat the oven to its hottest (ideally 250°C/480°F). Generously butter or oil the muffin tin-skip sprays.
- Roll pastry if needed. Cut 8 cm / 3 in rounds (same as the muffin cavities) and press into the bases.
- With your fingers, push the dough up the sides. Aim for wafer-thin walls and base.
- Fill each case ¾ full with cooled custard-no overfilling; they puff.
- Bake 7-10 min until tops blister and edges turn deep golden.
- Cool 5 min in the tin, then twist and lift onto a rack. If one clings, run a small knife round the edge. Serve warm (a whisper of cinnamon on top if you fancy).
Keep an eye on them! You want them slightly scorched but not completely.
Don't waste your whites: keep in the fridge for up to 5 days
or freeze and use them in these egg white recipes.
The Best Pastéis de Nata in Paris
For many years, the reference for the best Pastéis de Nata has always been Comme à Lisbonne. The smells of vanilla waft out of their boutiques on both rue du Roi de Sicile and rue de Mogador.
However, now we're lucky to have another address that sells equally delicious, traditional custard tarts from Portugal. On rue Rambuteau (near Châtelet les Halles), check out Manteigaria. They even have special packaging that keeps your Pastéis de Nata stacked together without any breakages - perfect for continuing your sightseeing or walking about in Paris.
Is Pastel de Nata Served Hot or Cold?
Pastéis de nata (or Pastel de nata) are normally served at room temperature. Even better, serve as they do at any Portuguese bakery in Paris, still slightly warm from the oven and lightly dust with ground cinnamon.
Portuguese Custard Tarts (Pastéis de Nata)
Equipment
- muffin tins (10-12 cavity)
Ingredients
- 4 egg yolks organic
- 75 g (2½ oz / 6 tbsp) sugar
- 15 g (1 heaped tbsp) cornflour/cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon vanilla powder (or vanilla extract)
- ½ teaspoon Powdered cinnamon (or cinnamon stick) and more to serve
- 300 ml (10 fl oz / 1 ¼ cups) whole milk
- 2 strips lemon zest organic, unwaxed
- 230 g (8oz) puff pastry 1 pack of ready-rolled or a pack of frozen puff, defrosted
- pinch salt fleur de sel or Kosher
Instructions
- Off the heat, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornflour, vanilla and cinnamon powder in a saucepan using a balloon whisk until you have a creamy paste. Gradually add the milk, whisking until mixed well together then add the lemon zest.
- Put the pan on a medium heat and whisk constantly until the mixture thickens (but don't boil). Remove pan from the heat. Immediately cover it with cling film to prevent a skin from forming. Set aside to cool then discard the lemon peels.
- Generously oil or butter the muffin moulds and preheat the oven - preferably to the highest setting at 250°C/480°F (230°C fan/mark 9).
- On a lightly floured surface - roll the pastry if needed - using a cookie cutter or glass (about 8cm/ 3 inch max diameter - the same diameter as your muffin cavity), cut out discs and press them into the bottom of each cavity. Using your fingers, press around the sides, pushing the dough up with your fingers, making a very thin dough.
- Spoon in the cooled custard about ¾ to the top then bake for 7-10 minutes until the custard is blistered on the top.
- Leave to cool in the moulds/tins for about 5 minutes then turn them out on to a wire rack.
Notes
This post was first published 28 April 2015 but is now completely updated. Links to Paris shops are not sponsored.
Sue Turner
Your recipe is my favourite go to recipe for these and never last long when I've family around!
Jill Colonna
So lovely to hear this - thanks so much for your feedback, Sue.
Perrie
delicious! how long do these keep for?
Jill Colonna
Hi Perrie,
Thanks for asking, as I realise I forgot to add to the post. They can keep for up to 2 days. Please don't hesitate to let me know how you like the recipe and hit the stars. Thanks for your support!
L
How many teaspoons of vanilla extract do we use, I don’t have a pod.
Jill Colonna
I'd say use just a teaspoon, as it depends what brand you use and quality. For a whole pod, it could be up to a tablespoon but if it's too much in the end, you can't adjust. Start with a teaspoon, taste and decide if you need to add more. Thanks for asking - I've updated the recipe card notes to explain.
Liz
Your custard filled tarts are gorgeous!! And easy to make, too. Bill would love them as much as I would 🙂
Jill Colonna
Thanks, Liz. It's a win-win at easy and delicious, isn't it?
Parisbreakfast
YUM I love these so much. I'm not sure I could be trusted around too many of them. I buy them at the Bastille marche on Sundays..
Jill Colonna
I'm like you, Carol. Not to be trusted around them since they're so good. It's not for nothing that I halved the quantities to make just 12 but now we're wanting more ...
Denise Browning@From Brazil To You
Hi, Jill! Thank you for linking back to me. I am glad that you enjoyed the recipe and made the adjustments according to your taste!
Although these custards tarts are originally from Portugal, they are very popular in Brazil, my home country.
There are 2 versions of these tarts down in Brazil... and I adopted the less traditional (adapted) in terms of look... This is why mine doesn't look like yours! 🙂 In Brazil, there is one version with puff pastry and other with flat crust, more similar to a tart/pie crust. Although I shared the traditional recipe (because I called it Portuguese), I flatten and thinned my puff pastry to adapt to my taste because I made the custard tarts mini.:) If I have not done that, I confess I would have thrown all of them in the trash after photographing them. Why? The result would have been more pastry than custard -- which I absolutely hate in a custard tart. When I make them regular-sized, they look like yours, very traditional look. The regular-sized ones seem to have a balance between the puff pastry and custard that is more noticeable. .
The high temps work best for the regular-sized tarts, I have to say.I hate the curdled texture of the custard that some Portuguese custard tarts present. I prefer mine smooth, and as for mini tarts, high temps can be a real problem. I removed mine slight before they started to get that scorched look on top. Mine looks like the less traditional version that we have in Brazil (and the egg tarts from China in terms of custard, not crust).
Wishing you a great week!
Jill Colonna
Hi Denise
This can sound pretty complicated with different versions in Brazil alone but one thing is for sure - we adore these delicious and regular, traditional custard tarts, just like the ones at Comme à Lisbonne in Paris. Thanks for your explanation of the Brazil-like non-traditional mini versions: you've given us an excuse to visit and taste scorched vs non-scorched and decide on the difference. Wouldn't it be wonderful to compare with the differing variations of this tart around the world? Now that is a new challenge 🙂 Vive les Pastéis de Nata!
Denise Browning@From Brazil To You
Jill:
Since you made the traditional version, I'd love that you try the mini non-traditional version, and also the Chinese one. I have my fave but It'd be interesting to hear from you which one would you pick as your favorite after trying them all. 🙂
Only to let you know that even the Portuguese traditional version, in Portugal itself, people can choose if they want theirs with a smooth or curdled custard, if they want the top sprinkled with cinnamon, sugar, or nothing at all. 🙂
Jill Colonna
Thank you so much for sharing your expertise advice here, Denise. I shall try to make the non-traditional later but would like to taste the different versions in their surroundings. After going to Comme à Lisbonne in Paris, I just wanted to make the simple, traditional version a bit like they did. They didn't offer if I wanted the custard smooth or curdled - they only asked if I wanted cinnamon to go with it. C'est tout. I hope to go to Portugal and try the experience - and Brazil, and China...
Jill Colonna
Would you believe it? We're off to Brazil on holiday tomorrow! Yay. Will have to report back to you, Denise!