Soon, the first pastéis de nata were born.įreshly baked pastéis de nata at Manteigaria. So the monks did what most people had been doing with egg yolks in Portugal for ages: used them in baked goods. It was common for them to use egg whites to starch their clothes when washing them, but they soon realized that they had a lot of leftover yolks to deal with. Said monks lived at the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, a seaside neighborhood west of central Lisbon. Remember those laundry-washing monks we mentioned earlier? Let’s go back to them for a second. With this Portuguese custard tarts recipe, you can bring Lisbon’s most beloved pastry to life at home. While eating a pastel (or multiple pastéis) de nata in Lisbon is understandably a bucket-list dream for so many people, there’s no need to wait until you’re able to travel to Portugal to try them. What came about as a result of some 18th-century monks doing laundry (yes, really) has grown into one of the most iconic pastries in the world. The treats in question are Portuguese custard tarts, or pastéis de nata. Locals have strong opinions about which places make the best. Visitors line up outside popular bakeries for them. But don’t rest it for too long, otherwise it will become soft and sticky.Few pastries have won over as many hearts (and tastebuds) as Portuguese custard tarts. (If the dough feels to hard to be rolled, you can rest it at room temperature for about 3 minutes. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 4 mm thick sheet. Lay a layer of food wrap on the work surface, place the hardened egg tart dough on the food wrap, cover with another layer of food wrap over the top. Lay the rectangle dough flat on a plate, keep it in the freezer for about 30 min ( or in the fridge overnight) until the dough turns hard.Ĩ.

Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle. Make ½-inch-wide flaps by folding down the three open edges of the rectangle.ħ. You should get a rectangle half the size of your original food wrap. Place the dough in the center of the food wrap, fold the food wrap in half. Transfer the dough to a plastic food wrap.Ħ. Use your hands to mix the dough until there is no dry flour. Sift in 160g cake flour and 15g milk powder to the mixture, roughly mix with a spatula until crumbly.ĥ. Add 1 tsp of vanilla extract to the mixture, roughly mix with hand mixer on medium speed for about 5 seconds.Ĥ.

Add another ⅓ of the egg to the butter-sugar mixture, mix with hand mixer … Repeat until all the egg has been mixed into the butter-sugar mixture.ģ. Add ⅓ of the egg (10g) to the butter-sugar mixture, mix with hand mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds, until all the egg liquid has been absorbed into the butter-sugar mixture. Mix with hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes until the butter turns pale yellow and fluffy.Ģ. Add 35g sifted powdered sugar and ⅛ tsp of salt to 100g softened butter. Cover with food wrap, keep in the fridge. Add 95g milk and 95g heavy whipping cream to the mixing bowl, stir gently until well combined. Add 3 egg yolks, 1 egg white, 30g sugar, 65g sweetened condensed milk, 10g milk powder, and 1 tsp vanilla extract to a mixing bowl. How to Make Egg Tarts Step by Step – Make Portuguese style egg custard fillingġ.

Portuguese tart recipe