Pasteis de Nata

How could we not write about this famous Portuguese pastry, loved by all people visiting or living in Portugal.

For many Portuguese people, pastel de nata is more than just a delicious pastry; it is a symbol of their identity and a way to connect with their heritage - a traditional treat. It is even considered a national treasure.

The story of its origin goes back to the 18th century in Lisbon, Portugal.

At that time, many monasteries and convents in Lisbon were producing large quantities of egg whites to starch the clothes of the monks and nuns. This left them with a lot of leftover egg yolks. So what to do with this without wasting all the egg yolks?

They started using them to make custard tarts with a crispy pastry crust. They called these tarts "Pastéis de Belém" because the monastery was located in the area of Belém, which is a district of Lisbon.

These tarts quickly became popular among the locals and visitors to Lisbon. However, it wasn't until the early 19th century that they started to be sold commercially. In 1837, the monastery began selling them to the public as a way to raise funds to support the monastery.

The recipe for the pasteis de nata was kept secret for many years, and it wasn't until 1837 that it was sold to the Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém, a pastry shop located next to the monastery. The Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém still makes pastéis de nata using the original recipe to this day, and they are considered by many to be the best.

But you can find delicious ones also in our area. It was just today, that we had a yummy pastel de nata in Porto Covo at “Prime” at the little famous square of Largo Marques de Pombal.

You would like to try baking them yourself?

Here is a recipe for making pasteis de nata at home.

*We don’t know it if works, to be honest. We rather go to the next café and buy them ;-) *

Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed

1 cup of whole milk

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

2 tbsp of cornstarch

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 lemon peel

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry sheet until it's thin enough to fit into your muffin tin. Cut the pastry sheet into 12 squares. Place the squares of pastry into the muffin tin and press them down gently to form a cup shape. Make sure that the pastry covers the entire bottom and sides of each muffin cup.

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk, cinnamon stick, and lemon peel until it starts to boil. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until smooth.

Remove the cinnamon stick and lemon peel from the milk and gradually pour the milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

Remove the saucepan from heat and let it cool slightly.

Spoon the custard into the pastry cups until they're about 3/4 full. Bake the pastries in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the custard has started to brown on top. Remove the pastries from the oven and let them cool slightly before removing them from the muffin tin.

Dust the pastries with powdered sugar before serving.

Please tell us if you succeed and how they tasted.

Photos taken by our Assistant Noella