Pastéis de nata

In 2009, The Guardian listed pastéis de nata as one of the 50 ‘best things to eat’ in the world – and I couldn’t agree more! When we walked the Portuguese Camino in Portugal during 2018, I enjoyed these Portuguese custard tarts every day (ok, I confess: there were days I enjoyed it twice).

So, although today’s dish is not a traditional South African recipe at all, but typical of Portugal, it’s just so good that I can’t help but share it here.

The history of pastéis de nata:

The term pastéis de nata is Portuguese for ‘cream pastries’ and were created before the 18th century by Catholic monks at the Hieronymites Monastery in Lisbon. At the time, convents and monasteries used large quantities of egg-whites for starching clothes, such as friars and nuns’ religious habits. It was quite common for monasteries and convents to use the leftover egg yolks to make cakes and pastries. (Source: Wikipedia).

The chef:

My brother, like Berto, is very capable in the kitchen. Johan knows how much I love pastéis de nata and made it especially for me. I watched with great amazement as he made the puff pastry from scratch and almost forgot to take pictures.

Here is Johan’s take on pastéis de nata:

Put it on the table:

Start making the puff pastry first, as it needs to rest in the fridge for a few hours. The filling (custard) can be made after the prepared puff pastry has been in the fridge for a few hours.

(Note: I told my brother it was definitely easier to buy puff pastry, but he didn’t want to know about it. But if you’re in a hurry to enjoy your pastéis de nata, I’m sure you’ll find decent puff pastry at your local store – just don’t tell my brother I mentioned it.)

Ingredients for the dough:

250g all-purpose flour (plus more for the work surface)

150ml cold water

200g salted butter (at least 82% fat, solid and straight from the fridge)

Method – dough:

  • Mix the flour and water until a pliable dough form. Put back in fridge for 15 minutes.

Preparation of the dough

  • Roll dough out in 20cm x 40cm rectangle. Flatten butter with a rolling pin to a 15cm square and place on the top half of dough.
  • Fold dough like an envelope over butter in 3 layers, leaving 2cm gap all sides.
  • Turn 90°, roll out again in 20cm x 40cm rectangle and fold the same way again.
  • Cover with some flour after every turn. Let rest in fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.

Homemade puff pastry

  • Repeat the process 2 more times.
  • With the longest side horizontal in front of you, roll the dough from the bottom away from you into a tight log, brushing the excess flour underneath as you go.
  • Trim the ends and cut the log in half.
  • Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to a few hours. (You can freeze the 2nd log for another time).

Ingredients for the custard:

Preparation for the custard

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

80ml milk (+ 250ml milk)

300g granulated sugar

1 cinnamon stick

150ml water

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

6 egg yolks

Method – custard:

  • Bring the sugar, cinnamon stick and water to a boil in a small saucepan and cook until reduced. Do not stir.
  • Heat 250ml cup of milk in microwave for 1 minute. Whisk the hot milk into the flour and 80ml milk mixture.
  • Remove the cinnamon stick and then pour the sugar syrup in a thin stream into the hot milk-and-flour mixture, whisking briskly.
  • Add the vanilla and stir for a minute. Whisk in the yolks, strain the mixture into a bowl, cover and set aside.

(Note: The custard will be thin)

The custard

Time to bake:

  • Preheat the oven to 220°C/428°F (fan).
  • Cover pan holes with butter/oil spray and sprinkle flour in each hole, swirling the pan to cover the full hole with flour, removing the excess flour.
  • Remove a pastry log from the fridge and roll it to about 25mm in diameter and 30cm long.
  • Cut it into 20mm pieces, should make around 12 pieces.
  • Place 1-piece pastry dough, cut side down, in each well of a nonstick 12-cup muffin pan.
  • If using classic tins, cut the dough into generous 1-inch (25mm) pieces.
  • Dip your thumbs in a bowl of water, then straight down into the middle of the dough spiral in the pan. Flatten it against the bottom of the cup to a thickness of about 1.5mm.
  • Then smooth the dough up the sides and create a raised lip about 3mm above the pan.

(Note: The pastry bottoms should be thinner than the tops).

  • Fill each cup ¾ full with the cool custard.
  • Bake the pastries until the edges of the dough are frilled and brown – about 15 to 17 minutes.
  • Check after 12 minutes, it should have puffed up with a few darker specs on top of the custard.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Sprinkle with cinnamon, then icing sugar.

Home baked pastéis de nata

Yes, you guessed it … my brother is a perfectionist when it comes to baking. How did it taste? Well, when I closed my eyes, I might as well have been standing in one of Lisbon’s hilly streets at a bakery – it was heavenly!

Many thanks to my brother for his contribution to our ‘Dish of the Week’ – it was a masterpiece!