Pastel de Nata
Portuguese custard tarts with flaky pastry and caramelized tops, adapted for a home oven.
Preparation: 35 min · Cooking: 26 min · Total: 1 hr 11 min · 12 servings
Ingredients
- 300 g butter puff pastry — Chilled and thawed according to the pack; contains wheat and milk.
- 300 ml milk — Use 75 ml cold for the flour slurry and heat the remaining 225 ml; contains milk.
- 120 ml cream — Full-fat cream; contains milk.
- 180 g sugar
- 5 pc egg yolks — Raw; keep chilled until needed. Contains egg.
- 1 pc cinnamon stick — Infuse whole; remove before adding the yolks.
- 25 g plain flour — Whisk into cold milk to thicken the custard; contains wheat.
- 1 pc lemon — Use 2 wide strips of washed yellow peel only; remove before adding yolks.
Instructions
Shape pastry cups
Preheat the oven to 250°C. Roll 300 g chilled butter puff pastry into a tight log, cut into 12 equal slices and press each slice from the centre up the sides of a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin. Keep the lined tin chilled while making the custard.
Make the cinnamon-lemon custard
Whisk 25 g plain flour with 75 ml cold milk until smooth. In a saucepan over medium heat, gently simmer the remaining 225 ml milk with 120 ml cream, 180 g sugar, 1 cinnamon stick and 2 wide strips of peel from 1 washed lemon for 5 minutes; do not boil hard. Remove the stick and peel. Whisk the hot milk into the flour mixture, return it to the pan and stir over low heat for about 3 minutes until lightly thickened. Take off the heat; whisk a little warm custard into 5 egg yolks, then whisk the yolks into the pan. Strain into a jug; do not boil the egg custard.
Custard base is smooth and lightly thickened, with no cooked egg lumps.
Infuse and thicken custard: 480 seconds
Bake until blistered and set
Fill the 12 chilled pastry cups no more than three-quarters full with the strained custard. Bake at 250°C for about 15–18 minutes, checking from 12 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden and the custard tops have dark caramelized spots. The centres may wobble slightly but must not be liquid; confirm the centre of a tart reaches at least 71°C with a food thermometer. Continue baking in short intervals if needed.
Pastry is crisp and golden, tops are spotted brown, custard is not liquid and its centre reaches at least 71°C.
Bake tarts: 1080 seconds
Cool and serve
Cool the tarts in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift them out carefully and serve warm.
Cool tarts: 600 seconds
Tips
- Use a fully preheated 250°C home oven and keep the pastry cold until filling for crisp layers.
- Fill each pastry cup no higher than three-quarters so the custard can rise without overflowing.
Common mistakes
- Boiling the custard after adding yolks can scramble it; remove the pan from heat first.
- A browned top alone does not prove the egg custard is safe; check at least 71°C in the centre.
Substitutions
- Use 300 g ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry instead of a block; keep it chilled and shape the same 12 cups. Check the label for wheat and milk.
Storage
Cool promptly and refrigerate the tarts in a sealed container at 4°C or colder within 2 hours; eat within 2 days.
Reheating
Serve chilled, or reheat in a 160°C oven until the custard centre reaches at least 74°C; the texture may soften.
About this recipe
Pastel de nata is a Portuguese custard tart with layered pastry and a caramelized top. Traditional bakery ovens run hotter; this version uses ready-made butter puff pastry and a 250°C home oven.
Editorial approval does not establish independent kitchen testing. Check allergens and follow safe food handling.