This pastéis de nata recipe makes as-close-to-authentic Portuguese custard tarts with a rich egg custard nestled in shatteringly crisp pastry. Tastes like home, even if you’re not from Portugal.
These Portuguese custard tarts are facsimiles of the true pastéis de Belém pastries from the Antiga Confeitaria de Belém, where they churn out more than 10,000 pastries each day. When you make that many a day, you get damn good at it. There are all kinds of reasons why the original pastéis de nata from this pastry shop are so freaking good. Secret recipes, teams of folks who do nothing but make the pastry dough or whip up the filling, ovens that blast at 800°F. In order to translate the pastéis to the home kitchen and to ovens that that hit 500°F if you’re lucky, these pastéis are smaller than the original. and the tops may not brown quite as much as the authentic pastéis in the picture, which are from the confeitaria. Still, that hasn’t stopped the flood of rave reviews below. The secrets to making spectacular authentic Portuguese custard tarts at home are few and simple. When making the pastry, make sure the butter is evenly layered, all excess flour is removed, and the dough is rolled very thin and folded neatly. As for the custard, you’ll need a thermometer to accurately gauge the custard. These are best eaten warm the day they’re made. Originally published June 26, 2004.–David Leite
Special Equipment: Mini-muffin tin with 2-by-5/8-inch wells
Pastéis de Nata | Portuguese Custard Tarts Recipe
Ingredients
- For the pasteis de nata dough
- 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (272 g), plus more for the work surface
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (1 g)
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold water (207 ml)
- 8 ounces unsalted butter (2 sticks | 227 g), room temperature, stirred until smooth
- For the custard
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (27 g)
- 1 1/4 cups milk (296 ml), divided
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar (264 g)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2/3 cup water (158 ml)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (3 ml)
- 6 large egg yolks, whisked
- For the garnish
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Cinnamon
Directions
- Make the pastéis de nata dough
- 1. In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the flour, salt, and water until a soft, pillowy dough forms that pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 30 seconds.
- 2. Generously flour a work surface and pat the dough into a 6-inch square using a pastry scraper. Flour the dough, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- 3. Roll the dough into an 18-inch square. As you work, use the scraper to lift the dough to make sure the underside isn’t sticking to your work surface.
- 4. Brush the excess flour off the top of the dough, trim any uneven edges, and, using a small offset spatula, dot and then spread the left 2/3 portion of the dough with a little less than 1/3 of the butter being careful to leave a 1 inch plain border around the edge of the dough.
- 5. Neatly fold the unbuttered right 1/3 of the dough (using the pastry scraper to loosen it if it sticks) over the rest of the dough. Brush off any excess flour, then fold over the left 1/3 of the dough. Starting from the top, pat down the dough with your hand to release any air bubbles, and then pinch the edges of the dough to seal. Brush off any excess flour.
- 6. Turn the dough 90° to the left so the fold is facing you. Lift the dough and flour the work surface. Once again roll it out to an 18-inch square, then dot the left 2/3 of the dough with 1/3 of the butter and smear it over the dough. Fold the dough as directed in steps 4 and 5.
- 7. For the last rolling, turn the dough 90° to the left and roll out the dough to an 18-by-21-inch rectangle, with the shorter side facing you. Spread the remaining butter over the entire surface of the dough.
- 8. Using the spatula as an aid, lift the edge of dough closest to you and roll the dough away from you into a tight log, brushing the excess flour from the underside as you go. Trim the ends and cut the log in half. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or preferably overnight. (The pastry can be frozen for up to 3 months.)
- Make the custard
- 9. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and 1/4 cup milk until smooth.
- 10. Bring the sugar, cinnamon, and water to a boil in a small saucepan and cook until an instant-read thermometer registers 220°F (100°C). Do not stir.
- 11. Meanwhile, in another small saucepan, scald the remaining 1 cup milk. Whisk the hot milk into the flour mixture.
- 12. 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 until very warm but not hot. Whisk in the yolks, strain the mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside. The custard will be thin; that is as it should be. (You can refrigerate the custard for up to 3 days.)
- Assemble and bake the pastries
- 13. Place n oven rack in the top third position and heat the oven to 550°F (290°C). Remove a pastry log from the refrigerator and roll it back and forth on a lightly floured surface until it’s about an inch in diameter and 16 inches long. Cut it into scant 3/4-inch pieces. Place 1 piece pastry dough, cut side down, in each well of a nonstick 12-cup mini-muffin pan (2-by-5/8-inch size). Allow the dough pieces to soften several minutes until pliable.
- 14. Have a small cup of water nearby. Dip your thumbs in the water, then straight down into the middle of the dough spiral. Flatten it against the bottom of the cup to a thickness of about 1/16 inch, then smooth the dough up the sides and create a raised lip about 1/8 inch above the pan. The pastry sides should be thinner than the bottom.
- 15. Fill each cup 3/4 full with the slightly warm custard. Bake the pasteis until the edges of the dough are frilled and brown, about 8 to 9 minutes.
- 16. Remove from the oven and allow the pasteis to cool a few minutes in the pan, then transfer to a rack and cool until just warm. Sprinkle the pasteis generously with confectioners’ sugar, then cinnamon and serve. Repeat with the remaining pastry and custard. These are best consumed the day they’re made.
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This recipe is the real deal and not too complicated. They taste exactly like the ones served up at the Lisboa Patisserie in Notting Hill, London. My only observation is that based on a standard sized muffin tin you’ll only get 24, otherwise great!
Hi Ivan, the recipe calls for mini-muffin tins. So if you used a standard size, I think you’d get about 20 or so. You’d also need to bake them longer, too,
I tried to make the tarts with the pastry I bought at supermarket. It didn’t come out quite right. The bottom of the tart seems not baked properly. It turned soggy after it got cold. Not crispy and flaky anymore. Is it because of the dough?
ron, most likely. The dough needs to be almost quite thin, especially if your using commercial pastry. I find store-bought dough to be too elastic. If you try it again, make sure to make the dough very, very thin and prick it with a fork on the bottom of this tin form. This prevents the dough from puffing up, which will keep it crisper.
I had the same problem using puff pasty, then my Portuguese friends told me they use filo dough with a brushing of butter between the layers…it seems to work great.
Antonio, yes, phyllo dough will work, but it’s not traditional. Still, any dough in a storm!
Have a video on this?
Mia, sorry no video on this yet. It’s on my to do list…..
Hi! I made it today but it’s soggy before baked :( why?
Lo, what was soggy? Everything is raw, so it should be soggy.
I mean the puff will shrink before it cooked :(. The filling was spilled out.
Lo, I see. It could be many things. The dough might not have been pulled all the way up the sides of the tin. Or the dough might not have rested enough. Or even the slice you cut may not have been thick enough. I will agree, this is a tricky recipe.
I am super excited to try these. What changes would I need to make if I wanted to make the full size versions? I assume the filling recipe would remain the same but the size of the pastry log would have to be altered, as would the baking time. Would you be able to tell me what these changes would be?
Thank you so much for your time.
Hi, John. It really depends on what “full size” means. Will you be using the pastéis tins that they use in Portugal or a muffin tin? What I would do is cut a wider slice from the dough log. Press the slice in the tin/muffin tin as specified in the recipe. You want it to come all the way up the sides and extend beyond the top lip by 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch. Once you know how much dough you’ll need to do that, cut the remaining slices the same size. You’ll have to bake the pastries longer; again that has to do with how much larger your tins are. I would check every 2 minutes or so after the initial 8 minutes. They should be just cooked through; they’ll continue cooking as they cool. Hope this helps.
Thank you for the quick reply. I apologize for not being clear; however, I was referring to regular muffin tins. I would love to have the proper pastéis tins and will look for them in the near future. I will definitely experiment with the width of the pieces cut from the dough log and keep an eye on the time.
Time permitting, I’ll attempt to make these on the weekend and report back!
Hi John. With a regular muffin tin, you don’t want to go all the way up the sides, as it makes the pastéis too big. Go a little more than halfway up. Now, if your tin is nonstick, it will be hard to prevent it from sliding down as it bakes and the custard spilling out. As far a baking, I’d try 10 minutes and then check it.
Thanks again for the tips! Sorry, forgot to ask earlier…
When I roll out the pastry log, should it still remain an inch in diameter and 16 inches long or should it be slightly thicker than an inch (perhaps 1.25 inches) since the regular muffin tins have a wider base than the mini ones? Not sure if that makes any sense.
I am pretty much a beginner so please excuse what might seem like a dumb question but they actually sell muffin tins that don’t have the nonstick surface? I assumed they were all nonstick.
John, not a problem. All you need to do is cut the log in to wider slices. That will give you enough dough to work with.
Older muffin tins are no stick. The mini tins I use are nonstick, but the wells are so small, I can kind of anchor them to the rim.
My suggestion for success is to bake off 2 or 3 of them as a test. Then make any adjustment you need in the size of the slice and cooking time.
David, you have been a tremendous help. Thank you for your patience and taking the time to answer all my questions. I truly appreciate it.
John, my pleasure. Now march into that kitchen and bake away!
The oven setting at 550 degrees Farenheit is a mistake. I tried the recipe–followed it completely and burned the bottoms and most of the sides. I checked online and 200 degrees Celcius translates to about 400 degrees F. I’ll try again but will reduce the temperature.
Luisa, I’ve never had a problem at that temperature. This is the first I’ve hear of it. Are you using the correct size pan–the mini muffin tin? It needs high heat in order to cook quickly and thoroughly. If you’re using full muffin tins (or larger tins), it could burn. Also, do you have an oven thermometer? Your oven might be running hot. Last, are you using convection or regular heat?
David, should the oven rack be in the center or bottom rung of the oven, to avoid burning?
Maria, I actually place them in the upper third, as you want to get the little burn marks on them. But if they’re browning too quickly, cover with foil and set the next batch on the center rack.
I fell in love with these pastries in Portugal so was excited to find this recipe. I just baked them and at 550, the pastry burned and the custard ran all over the pans. I will try these again only baking at 450. I also thought the custard seemed a little sweeter than I remember. Also, when you make the custard it is very runny and I thought maybe I’d made a mistake. It appears to have thickened as it cooked, what didn’t run all over the place.
Sharon, how close were the pastries to the top of the oven? That can affect things. (Is 550° in your oven automatically broil?) Is your oven calibrated? Was it the pastry shrinking back or the custard spilling that was the problem? And last question: we’re you using a mini-muffin pan or a larger size? This recipe does have a running raw filling, but it does firm up when cooked.
These little gems are really tough to make at home–trust me, I know!
Hi David, thanks for your reply. I must apologize for commenting before I tasted the little pastries. First of all, yes the custard is runny and sweet, but after baking it sets up perfectly and isn’t too sweet when you bite it with the unsweetened pastry. Secondly, I did cheat and tried using premade puff pastry and rolled it out and followed your directions. I put the pastry in the tins and then wasn’t able to bake until the next day. I didn’t smoosh the pastry in the tins until it was thin enough and even at 550F, they didn’t get done on the bottom and didn’t hold enough of the filling. Since the pastry was too thick, it probably puffed up too much and spilled a lot of the filling out. Didn’t stop us from eating them though. I cooked the leftover filling on top of the stove and have been sneaking it a spoonful at a time from the fridge :-D I definitely will try them again using your dough recipe. I was trying a short cut and had an epic fail . . . no fault of your recipe!
Hey Sharon, well THAT explains it! Commercial puff pastry is much different from this dough, even though they’re both laminated doughs. When you use the dough in the recipe, it’s literally less than a 1/16 of an inch in places, so it doesn’t puff the same way. If you want to use commercial dough, make sure to 1.) make it thin enough, and 2.) dock it by pricking it with a fork. It helps prevent from puffing too much.
Hello David,
I am planning on making these for Christmas, and was wandering if you had the metric conversions of your measurements. I don’t mind cups, but “spoons” do throw me. Thank you.
Maria, I don’t, I’m sorry. But I find this site helpful.
Hello, David!
I just viewed the Delicious Destinations show highlighting Lisbon, and the section of the show dealing with these little gems specifically said they are baked at 400 degrees.
Cynthia, thanks for writing. I’ve heard all kinds of temperatures for this recipe! When I’ve baked them at 400 degrees, they don’t come out right. And I know when I grilled the owner in Portuguese, he said it was 400°C, which is approximately 750°F–which would incinerate them! I could see 400°F in a powerful convection oven, though.
I have a wood oven (commercial bakery) and I am really looking forward to baking these pastries in it – easily able to obtain temperatures over 500F – what temperature would you recommend? Will try to use a standard sized muffin tin as this size suits the tastes of my customers more closely.
Dianne, I would try 500/550 degrees to start. There might be adjustments that need to be done for commercial production. As I’m a home cook, I couldn’t tell you what they are!
Hi David,
Thanks for the recipe. Can you clarify what is meant by the following, after trimming uneven edges? What is a dot?
4. Brush excess flour off the top, trim any uneven edges, and using a small offset spatula dot and then spread the left two-thirds of the dough with a little less than one-third of the butter to within 1 inch of the edge.
Grace, certainly. What I mean (and I will clarify it in the recipe now) is to drop pieces of butter all over the dough. It makes it easier to spread it that way, rather than trying to plow through a big hunk of butter.
Hi David Leite,
By any chance is you book translated in to Portuguese?
I would love to have it.
Thank You
Mariana
Hi, Mariana, no the book is only in English at the moment. I don’t think they are plans to translate it.
Hi Ivan,
I can translate to Portuguese for you if you need. Just send material. I will love to cooperate. No charges at all.
Happy Thanksgiving
If that isn’t the Thanksgiving spirit, Simoneti, I don’t know what is. Many thanks…
Hi David,
I’ve loved these lil treasures from a few years ago when travelling in Portugal.
Thanks for this recipe I’ll be trying these out this weekend.
Cheers Carl
David I would like to make these for my niece’s bridal shower next week. I was hoping to make them today and freeze and remove them from the freezer the evening before he shower or the morning of. Is this possible with this type of pastry. I have too many last minute things to do the day of and the day before to make them then. The groom is portuguese and I know these are his favourite.
Hi, Grace. I think the custard and the pastry would suffer. What you can do is make the pastry and fill the tins. Cover those really, really well and freeze them. The day before, make the custard. then the day of you can simply ladle the custard in the pastry and bake them off. You might need a few extra minutes because everything is cold. I hope this helps, and give my best wishes to the happy couple!
Hi I have a copy of your new book which is so beautiful and I can’t wait to make some of the recipes. You were recommended by a baker in Derbyshire for your pasteis recipe. I haven’t had them since I moved from London where I used to get them at Lisboa. I am terrible at pastry but for these I will try…. anyway I am just about to have a go at your tarts and I realise it’s all in cups. I can convert butter easily but I always have difficulty being accurate converting flour to grams, would you be able to tell me what 1 cup of your all purpose flour weighs and then I can manage to convert the rest myself. Best wishes, Joanna
Joanna, best of luck with the pastéis! One cup of all-purpose flour weighs approximately 125 grams. Here’s a neat conversion table for all types of flours.
Hi Mr. Leite,
Thank you for your receipe of Portuguese Custard which I found yesterday. I could not wait too long to try it for my family, so I tried to make the dough about 20 minutes ago. I found something strange, and please help me. When I mixed the all-purpose flour with the water (as your recipe suggested), the dough was very sticky. Too much water I think. What can I do now? Thank you in advance.
Tim, thanks for writing. All of your math is correct, but you have discovered why so few cookbooks that are converted from U.S. amounts to metric or metric to U.S. amounts work. When I was living in Portugal, it was very hard to convert successfully because ingredients act differently, especially flour. I found that it either absorbed more or less water than my recipes made in the U.S.
So my suggestion is to add enough flour to make the dough just slightly tacky, but not sticky. The filling should be okay.
That’s really helpful David, thanks so much!
You got it!
My parents came to visit this week, and so I made your tarts thinking my father would like them. The expression on his face spoke volumes which he proceeded to tell my children…how his mother made custard pie in her cast iron skillet. She gave her cast iron skillet to me before she died because I loved to watch her cook in it, but I can’t imagine making the pie in it! She did not have many pans during the depression, so that may be the reason, but I was surprised by his story and wondered how I would keep my crust from sinking to the bottom, the sides are pretty straight. His mother was Spanish and married his father who was italian–so maybe his memories are off a little, he is 77, but I would love to make it for him. Do you think this would work, or should I just stick to the tarts? Either way, thank you for a wonderful dessert and stimulating great memories and family conversation.
Hello, Lori. For this recipe I would stick to the tarts. The dough is similar to a puff pastry and would most likely shrink back into the pan. There are many, many recipes for custard pies in cookbook and on the Internet. I’d do a little research, making sure the crust is a classic pie crust, not a puff pastry crust, and I think you might touch your father’s heart.
Thank you!
Thank you for your recipe. I just wonder when I baked the tarts, they were shrinking down and the custard spilling out. Are you able to tell me why?
Minh, if the dough hasn’t had enough time to rest (to relax the gluten), hasn’t been chilled properly, or is worked too much while pushing up the sides of the pan it can shrink.
Hi David! I was wondering where I could buy the special 1/3 cup forms to make these (I live in Australia so is there some place online I could order from? I have never seen them here). I have your book and I just love it. It is sometimes hard to get the ingredients here (i.e. salt cod) but it’s always worth it. :)
Hannah, there is a place called Tucha Gifts on Ferry St. in Newark, NJ. That’s where I get mine. I don’t know if they will ship to Australia. I have never found a place online that sells them.
David, Hello. Thank you for being so generous with your time to share all of these wonderful recipes with us. I’m Portuguese, but raised here in the US. Can I use phyllo dough for the crust?
Muito obrigado
Hi Catarina, you can use phyllo, but it won’t be the same. If you want to use a packaged product for the crust, buy a premium puff pastry.
Thanks so much for posting this! I had tried a recipe that was a distillation of several videos I saw on YouTube. I did find something that tasted quite good but my problem was that by the time things were browning, the custard filling had boiled over and made a mess. Actually the first batch was looking good after around 9 or 10 minutes but the recipe said 20…yours is just what I suspected, very hot to brown the top and cook the dough before the filling gets too hot. (That and larger tins than the muffin pan I was forced to use.) This looks just right and makes perfect sense.
David,
I am so excited to try this recipe. I was born and raised in Newark, NJ. I grew up with these but have never made them myself.
Quick question for you, I have some puff pastry in the freezer still can I use this instead of making the dough from scratch?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Maria, you can use puff pastry from the freezer, but it has to prepared in a very different way or all the filling will spill as the pastry bubbles up. In my cookbook I have a recipe specifically designed for frozen puff pastry. If you don’t have it, pick it up or check it out of the libary. It’s the longest recipe in the book, but it’s worth it!
Hi David –
This recipe is fantastic. Thank you! After visiting Belem earlier this year and gorging on pastries, I’ve been trying to replicate them at home. First few recipes I tried, which called for puff pastry, were disappointing. I’ve made yours twice already and my pasteis were perfect both times. I was reluctant to try making my own dough, but it worked out so well, I may never go back to puff pastry for any tart. With credits to both you and Mr. Rosa, would it be okay to repost your recipe on my blog?
Kathleen,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe and it worked out for you! I love this little gems.
Thanks for taking the time to post this recipe.
I have two questions:
1) Does the pastry cook sufficiently considering you are not blind baking, which is what i see many other recipes calling for?
2) You don’t clarify what happens with the cinnamon stick, you simply say:
Bring the sugar, cinnamon, and water to a boil in a small saucepan and cook until an instant-read thermometer registers 220°F (100°C). Do not stir.
Pour the sugar syrup in a thin stream into the hot-milk-and-flour mixture, whisking briskly
Do you take out the cinnamon stick just before pouring syrup into milk/flour mixture. Can you use powdered cinnamon instead? If so, how much?
Thanks
Hi Charles,
1. Because the tart are mini–less than half the size of the original–the custard is sufficiently cooked.
2. Good catch. The cinnamon is removed before you pour the hot sugar syrup into the milk mixture. I’ve fixed it above.
I have never used anything but stick cinnamon (cassia), which can be used over and over again, so I can’t accurately tell you how much ground cinnamon to use. I’d start with a small amount, say 1/8 a teaspoon, and work up from there.
I hope this helps.
Also, how much water?
Hi, Tara. The recipe specifies 2/3 cup of water.
Wow I was just trying to describe the little Portuguese custards I had when i visited Hamburg in ’06 and then i saw a link to them and wound up here. These were so popular in Hamburg that the Portuguese family bakery had to open up 3 bakeries right next to each other just to try to keep up with demand. I can’t wait to make these at home. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Mark, I hope you enjoy them!
I’ve been looking for a good recipe like this for a long time!! One problem though, the custard I made was very runny–even when cooked. I triple checked the quantities, and Im still confused. Did I not cook the syrup long enough? Not sure.
Ashlee, the custard is indeed thin after adding the syrup and when putting it in the pasty shells, but it firms up in the oven. Was it runny after the pastries came out of the oven? Also, are you using the precise size molds specified in the recipe? A larger muffin tin, or even the tins from Portugal, are too big for this recipe.
Hello and I cant wait to try these!!! Now if I used puffed pasty would it be the same?? And can you make a video on the dough rolling!! Thank you…
Natalie
Natalie, commercial puff pastry won’t work for this method. If you want to use it, it’s best to cut a circle of the dough just slightly larger than the total diameter of the sides plus the bottom of the wells in your muffin tin. Prick the circles all over with a fork, fit them into the tins, then fill them with the custard.
As far as a video, that’s a great idea. Perhaps after the holidays.
Just wondering why you have to strain the mixture into a bowl after adding the egg yolks and do you use a regular strainer or cheese cloth? What are you straining or ‘removing’? I may have missed something. I want to try making these for my mom who is Portuguese. I am no baker and am nervous about the dough but will try and willing to try again until I get it right! Thank you!
Hi Cheryl. Don’t be nervous! Just have faith and plunge forward. You strain the mixture because sometimes if you adds the yolks and the mixture is too hot, you might end up with tiny bits of cooked eggs in the custard. This makes sure that even if you do, they’re strained out. Any fine strainer works well.
David: I tried your recipe for the first time this evening. It was a difficult recipe but I managed. I wanted to say that I am deeply pleased. My grandmother Ramona died twenty-five years ago and I did not have her recipe. I have tried many and this is the first time I tasted one like hers. It took my breath away. Thank you for giving me a piece of my past back to me. Just to let you know I topped mine with fresh blueberries and strawberries and crema. To die for!
Desiree, nothing makes me happier! To hear that you retrieved a bit of your past is exactly why I started writing about food, and initially Portuguese food. Unlike you, I could never find (and still haven’t found) recipes that comes close to some childhood favorites of my avó Costa.
I agree, the recipe isn’t a snap–but in the end you discovered what I did: it’s a small price to pay to have your grandmother back in the kitchen with you.
David, I was born and raised in the Ironbound section of Newark. Moved away about 18 years ago and really miss these little custard cups. Can’t wait to try your recipe. I still have family living in Neward so I’m going to pay them a visit and pick up the pastry tins. Thanks so much for your recipe. They also make a lemon version that I’ve had, have your ever made it and if so can you share that recipe as well.
Hi Sandi. If you go to Newark, visit Tucha Gifts–they have the tins. The original confeitaria only serves the plain custard, from what I remember. I do know you can get different flavors at Texeira’s bakery in Newark. Sorry, I don’t have a recipe for the lemon, but I think it would be a matter of just adding some lemon zest to the cooking custard, then straining it out.
I was wondering if the milk is whole milk or just regular 2%. Thank you for posting this recipe!
Hi Mimi. It’s whole milk. The dessert needs the fat for the proper setting of the custard. Enjoy!
Muito obrigado! Foi otimo! Huge thanks, these were awesome! After 20 years of missing these little beauties it’s amazing how making these takes me back to a different time and place!
Great job, thanks!
Brock, de nada.
Hi David
I came across your recipe lat last night and i’m so excited to try these out today, I live in London, England and was very upset when my favourite restaurant ran out last night so I vowed to try and bake my own!! I’ve never made my own dough as its always been easier to buy ready made in the supermarkets. My question is, is it better to make the dough on a marble board as my counter top is not stone?
Thanks!
Hello, Tia. I’ve made the dough on marble, granite, and butcher block, so I don’t think it matters. The dough differs a bit from classic French puff pastry, as the butter is room temp, so keeping it cold while making it isn’t as crucial as keeping it cold after the dough is formed into a log. Hope this helps.
David, I want to try to make this. I have a pretty packed schedule. So can I make the pastry dough first, wrap it tightly, and refrigerate it for 2 nights? Then after 2 nights, I’ll make the custard and bake them on the same day. Is it possible?
Thank you :)
Audrie, you absolutely can keep the dough in the fridge. You want it as cold as possible when you start shaping it.
This is the only puff pastry recipe I know of that uses an almost 1:1 ratio of flour to water. I don’t know if this is a Portuguese thing or unique to these pasteis, however, there are many different puff pastry recipes that are much easier to work with. Most puff pastries contain water at roughly 55-60% of the flour total (that’s a baker’s percentage). It will make for a much less sticky dough and eliminate the need to so generously flour the rolling surface.
Hi, Peter. I got this recipe from a Portuguese baker, who got it from his predecessor–both of whom are from Portugal. It’s absolutely a different dough from traditional puff pastry. And it’s the only puff dough I know of that uses room temp butter. I’m not a math genius, but according to my calculations, the water is 47% volume as compared to the flour (14 tablespoons of water to 30 tablespoons of flour.) It’s not a 1:1 ratio, but almost a 1:2 ration.
Baking ratios are typically done by weight, not by volume. So, 2 cups minus 2 tbsp flour is equivalent to approximately 230g of flour and 3/4 cup water plus 2 tbsp is 205g of water. 205gH20/230g flour is approximately 89% water as a percentage of flour (a baker’s percentage). So, it is almost 1:1, if you follow me.
I made it both ways and the traditional puff pastry recipe is much better and easier to work with than the method described here. Other recipes for pastel de nata or pastel de belem tend to follow the more tradition 55-60% water as a percentage of flour for the puff pastry. This custard filling recipe is spot on, the flour really helps prevent curdling of the milk under the high heat that the pastel de nata require.
Peter, I definitely got your point. And, yes, I measured by volume, my bad. I’ve never had a problem with the dough, though. Did you know that in Belém the dough is made in a log that’s about one foot in diameter and then pulled and pulled until it’s an inch in diameter? I wonder if the extra water helps that process.
So tell me, would you consider sharing your recipe for puff pastry so that we can offer it as an option for readers?
I’m happy you like the filling. I think it’s quite good.
The recipe is same as yours, just less water (if you’re using AP flour, you’ll want 125ml-135ml of water). I also do the traditional butter square thing as opposed to this room temperature spreading stuff. It’s not really my recipe, just a basic puff pastry recipe you’ll find in almost any culinary guessing book. There’s also an America’s Test Kitchen episode where Julia (one of the cooks) builds the puff pastry using a jelly roll pan and parchment paper making it virtually impossible to screw up.
As for the stretchiness, as far as I know, the elasticity of flour is affected by only the gluten content and the amount of kneading (and to a lesser extent, things like salt and acid). Typically, puff pastries are kneaded very little so as to avoid gluten development, some folks even recommend adding a bit of acid to keep the gluten from developing. I imagine an expert pastry baker would be the person to consult on this sort of thing though–as I understand it, those Belem bakers are rather secretive with their recipes.
Secretive? Secretive?! The dough and custard are made behind a locked door at night. I did discover they also use a fat that isn’t 100% butter. I forgot the name, but it can be bought in Portugal.
But I assume you roll your puff, cut it into 1-inch nubs, and turn them on their cut sides in order to thumb the dough up the sides of the tin?
Ola David, a gordura que eles usam em portugal para a massa folhada dos pasteis de nata e margarina para folhados.
Olá, Maggie. Em Portugal eles usam um produto similar a margarina. Eu não sei a real composição do conteúdo de gordura, mas tem um ponto de fusão mais elevado do que a manteiga. E faz um bolo mais esquisito. Mas elas única coisa é que é um transfat.
Ola David, desculpe de incomodar mas sera que me podias esplicar a causa de a massa folhada encolher quando vai para o forno ? e que ja me passou varias vezes e o creme entorna e os pasteis ficam perdidos. outras vezes ficam mesmo uma maravilha. Obrigada.
Maggie, obrigado pela sua mensagem. Retracção é causada pela massa sendo manipulado muito. A massa precisa descansar na geladeira o tempo suficiente para que o glúten pode relaxar. Além disso, quando você está moldando a massa até os lados da estanho de cozimento, certifique-se de não puxar muito nisso, ou ele vai encolher. Você também pode cortar os pedaços de massa um pouco maior para que você tenha mais massa para trabalhar com comk. Espero que ajude.
Yeh, the nubs vary a bit depending in width depending on the roll, but usually with my mini cupcake pan it’s 1/2”-3/4” thick.
About the mixing the fat–I bet they don’t use butter at all, but rather leaf grade lard (or a mixture of the two as you say). I’ve never worked with leaf lard or even seen the correct cuts of fat to render into leaf lard (it comes from around the kidneys, not the fat back from above the shoulders), but it is supposedly the holy grail of pastry cooking fats. You often hear chefs in the States talking up European butters, especially for puff pastry, because it contains less water and more fat than American butters. I don’t know why exactly leaf lard is supposed to produce such flaky pie crusts and shatter-tastic croissants, but it’s probably got to do with its even higher fat and lower water content.
I can say for sure that it’s not leaf lard or regular lard. It’s actually a margarine-like product. It’s very yellow. My guess is it’s a combination of butter and some form of hydrogenated fat.
Well, if they’re using margarine (invented circa 1870), then they are certainly not sticking to the original 1837 recipe ;)
Not from the recipe from the Monastery of Jeronimos! My guess–and I can’t confirm this with anyone at the confeitaria–is that it was a 20th-century tweak. It’s called margarina para folhados, which is, apparently, different from margarina para bolos, etc.
Hi David. I love your blog. I have made your almond torte and absolutely loved it. I have made it twice and it was a hit with everyone.
Now this is my second time making the pastéis. The fist time i made it with 2% cuz it was all i had, plus a little heavy cream for a thicker consistency. they came out tasting great just a little too runny so this time i made it with whole milk and they are still not how they should be. i really would like to master this. what am i doing wrong?
1. should i reduce the water for the syrup and just make it 1/3 water?
or
2. should i use cream instead of milk?
My oven only heats up to 500 degrees so i leave them in there for a few more minutes. Also, i am using phylo for the cups. i will finally concur my fears and make the dough as soon as i master the custard part first.
Thanks,
Regina Goncalves
From New Jersey
Hello, Regina. Sorry to hear the filling was runny. I wouldn’t change or substitute anything, as baking is chemistry and all the ingredients work together to make the filling the right consistency.
First make sure you’re using the right type of milk, the exact amount and right type of flour, and the right size eggs. These all contribute to the thickening of the filling. I would also use the dough specified in the recipe. All of these substitutions have an effect on the final product.
Second, I would also make sure to use a correctly calibrated thermometer. Different reactions happen at different temperatures, and if you haven’t gotten the mixture up to the right temperature (or over shot it), that could also affect the results.
Third, keeping the pastries in longer is fine, but it may take longer than just a few minutes. To find out the perfect timing: follow the recipe exactly using all the proper and called-for equipment then bake a batch, removing a tart every minute or so after the full baking time. (So you’d have a pastry removed at 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, etc. minutes) Let them sit until slightly warm. This will tell you precisely at what time the pastries are done for your oven, since it can’t reach 550°.
Hope this helps.
Hi
I just wanted to know if one can freeze the Pasteis de Nata once they are baked and the just defrost and reheat them a little on another day. We wanted to make them for a school fair and obviously needed to many to bake on the same or even two days. Thank you.
Hi Hildegard, my gut says no. I’ve never tried it because I think the texture of the custard and the integrity of the pastry would suffer. My suggestion? Make a batch of the custard and dough. (Both can stay in the fridge for up to a week.) Make just a few pastries, let them cool, them freeze them. Defrost and reheat and decide if they work for you. (Sorry for the noncommittal answer, but I would hate to say yes and then you find out the day of the fair, they don’t taste good.)
Maybe I did not read this carefully enough. How many turns for the puff pastry?
Thanks!
Sheila
Thanks David. I just got back from Portugal two days ago and have been craving these tarts. I can’t wait to make them. Thanks for sharing.
Candice, welcome home. These are addictive little devils. Please let me know how they turn out.
It says bring the cinnamon, sugar, and water to 100°C. DO NOT STIR. So is it OK if all sugar doesn’t melt? Or am I doing something wrong?
Hi Ben, the sugar needs to be dissolved entirely. What kind of sugar are you using? (I see that you’re in the UK.) When you try it again, make sure the sugar is completely submerged in the water, and if necessary, give it a few gentle stirs with a spoon. That will help.
Hi David! I’ve been over the years trying various recipes and eventually settled with one where I was getting fairly decent results…until that same recipe (also with a sugar syrup) began to sometimes get runnier with rest to cool down and split when baked!!I read you mentioned in the EG forum that you had that resolved. Could you PLEASE enlighten me as to why that happens or how to avoid it? I don’t know anymore if it is due to overcooking the cornstarch (which I use instead of flour…maybe I ought to change) or not cooking it enough and thus the uncooked yolks breaking it down. thank you, thank you in advance!!I am trying today your recipe, though I’m afraid my “conversions” to grams may not be so accurate…We’ll see! :)
P.D. Would it be possible for you to share the full version of Alfama’s recipe (the one not adapted for home ovens?).
Colette, thanks for writing. Cornstarch is notoriously finicky. If overcooked, it turns runny, as you noted, and there is nothing you can do to fix it. And that’s what I think is happening to you. Flour is more stable and creates a thick custard, so I suggest you go with that. I don’t have the full recipe from Alfama, because right from the beginning, we scaled it down for the home cook. But all we did was scale it down. This recipe is the Alfama version. Please let me know how it goes.
Hi David! I’ve just seen your reply! Thank you so much!! i tried it with flour and it seemed to work well..so I’m sticking to it! :) Thanks again!
My pleasure, Colette.
Hi David,
I have a question with regards to the custard. After whisking in the eggs, is the final result supposed to be quite liquid?
Hello Nustrat. Yes, the uncooked custard is very liquid-y. The cooked custard firms up nicely. Let me know how they turn out.
Thank you for the reply, David.
Well it did not turn out as the one I just ate in Portugal two weeks ago unfortunately:(
The custard did set but it set too much because I notice that it did not move as much as the ones I ate. My pastry did not turn out very well either because they did not grow and was not fluffy:( but they were eatable!
Also I did half the quantity of the custard and it was a little too sweet. But I did not give up!!! I am trying again this weekend :) will let you know.
For my pastry, I noticed that when I had them in the spiral and pressing them in the pan, I could feel the butter. Is that normal?
I really want to get this right ;) hubby is Portuguese :)
Hi Nusrat. I’m sorry they didn’t turn out well. These are mini-pastéis and will be a bit different. They’re supposed to be made in a small muffin tin (see special equipment above). That makes the pastry crisper than those in the confeitaria. A suggestion: perhaps make these in a regular-size muffin tin. That will allow more dough in each well and that means the dough has a better chance to puff more. Also because the pastéis are bigger, the custard won’t cook as much.
I’m here to help you. But I’ll admit I’ve never had a homemade pastel that was like those in Portugal. You’ve inspired me to get back in the kitchen and revisit this recipe.
Thank you very much David. I will let you know how the second try goes:)
Sure thing!
Hi David,
I’m having real trouble getting the dough rolled out to an 18-inch square as specified – it’s very thin and sticking to the surface no matter how much flour I use (and I don’t want to overdo it on the flour for fear of making the pastry tough). Do you have any tips? When I try to scrape it from the surface with the dough scraper it’s just ruching up in places, tearing in other places. The dough doesn’t feel excessively wet or sticky though.
Thanks so much!
Hi, Ruby. I see you’re writing from the UK. That in itself may be part of the problem. I find it irksome that flours, as well as some other baking ingredients, differ from country to country. The first thing I’d try is to roll out the dough to the size that works for you. Forget about yield at the moment. Our goal now is to get it working so that you can then make any volume adjustment later. Fire off a batch and see how they fare. It might be simply a matter of differences in measuring the flour. In the US, we prefer, sadly, volume, where elsewhere in the world,the more precise method of weight is the standard. If that still doesn’t do, write me back and we’ll get to the bottom of this. We have some testers in England who might be able to lend their expertise.
Hey David!
I stumble upon your website looking for the perfect pastéis de nata recipe because I used to eat them at Nando’s (Portuguese resto franchised here in the MidEast). There are a lot of websites that offer the same recipe, but I was interested in your because of the small quantity with a sure-win taste! I was really amazed when I tasted them! They were really wonderful! And…yes the are little devils to the diet! From now on, this will always be one of my top desserts to cook.
Now, I am trying your Katherine Hepburn brownies. I was wondering if one day you could also make a recipe for honey cake. Since i’ve been researching it…just can’t comprehend other websites. God Bless on your passion for cooking!!! Thanks!!!
Faye, what a lovely thing to say, thank you. Yes, I find these little devils to be not only detrimental to the waistline but also to the will. Which is why I make them only when I have a crowd coming over.
I’ll take a look at bolo de mel (honey cake). It wasn’t may favorite when I was in Portugal, so I didn’t include it in my cookbook or on the site. But perhaps I can come up with something that will satisfy us both.
I am also wondering how to make it stick to your teeth..because after it is cooked the pastry is really crackling! I mean..-sharp…like that. So I put it the dough in the fridge and about the 2nd day it turned out the way I wanted. The opposite of crackling pastry. I dont really know how to say it, but I wanted it that way. Not super crispy! so it was my preference. =) thanks again!
Sure thing, Faye. I think by letting the dough rest in the fridge for 48 hours, it hydrated and made it a bit softer–crisp but not crackling.
Heya.
I’d love to make these, as I was in Lisbon recently and visited the shop in Belem. However, the recipe is quite large for how I typically allow myself to indulge in sweets. Would halving the recipe work? I know that with cooking one can be inexact and improvise, but baking is more sensitive to the variance in chemistry. Additionally, beyond the ingredients, would the rolling measurements still apply or would a best guess in area in regards to the thickness make sense? I hope things are well for you! Thanks in advance!
Heya, Jablonski. My suggestion is to make the full recipe. You can use how ever much of the dough you want and freeze the rest. Same for the filling: it will keep in the fridge for at least a week. That’s what I do. Otherwise, you start to fiddle with smaller amounts, and that can be hard.
Not sure what you mean by the rolling the dough and its thickness. Can you give me more detail?
Thanks for the quick reply! If you had a suggestion for whether or not halving the recipe would work, I was curious if the lesser quantity of dough would need to be rolled into different dimensions for buttering and cutting or if I attempt to achieve the dimensions posted.
Jablonski, I see what you mean. Yes, they would have to be rolled to different dimensions, because there’s less dough. The dimensions would depend upon how much dough you used, which is way too confusing. My advice is to make the whole dough recipe up until you slice the log. Because the dough will have been rolled and shaped properly, all you need to do is cut off the number of dough rounds you need, fit them into the tins, and freeze the rest. Easy peasey.
Thanks, I realize I was over complicating it now. That’s a great idea! Thanks.
Jablonski, no problem! That’s what I’m here for.
My husband made pasteis de nata from your recipe and they came out SO DELICIOUS!!! So close to what you find in Lisbon!!! Great recipe!! Thank you!! =) Feliz Natal!
Angela, nothing–I mean nothing–makes me happier. Thank you for your kind words, and tell your husband, meu prazer.
Hi David –
Have also had this recipe bookmarked for “some day.” Yesterday was that day, and they turned out beautifully. My Tia (Aunt), age of 91, Portuguese and never a baker, had the surprise of her life today when I brought these to her. Of course, my husband and I did taste test them yesterday just to make sure they were good. I have a cousin coming from Portugal in February for a visit and I will make them again. Thanks for sharing.
How wonderful to hear, Helena! Thank you. Please give your tia um grande abraço for me. And I wish you, your husband, and tia a wonderful Christmas!
David what is the book’s name I would love to have a authentic Portuguese cook book. And yeahhh this is a recipe I’ve been looking for all my life others make u make a thick pastry cream stove top, I am soooooo trying these today, and cavacas request of my husband.
christina, there isn’t a book with this recipe. I got it from the restaurant Alfama in New York City. These are an adaptation, as they’re made in a mini-tart pan, not the traditional pastéis de nata tins.
Hi my name is Tina, I have a question to ask you. May I ask what kind of flour will I use for my Portuguese Custard? Thank you for your time take care and have a wonderful day.
Dear Tina, I use all-purpose flour. I like the King Arthur brand.
In the UK we use plain flour or self raising flour. What is ‘all purpose’ flour, I’m guessing plain flour and what the heck is King Arthur brand? Never heard of it. And we don’t use cups, we use grams. For liquids we use ml (milli litres). If you converted your measurements to the international metric standard it could be used by all, including those little corners of the world outside the States like, er, Europe!
Finally, this is a verbose recipe, it really needs shortening down a bit, or make a video :-)
rich, thanks for the input. King Arthur Flour is a popular brand in the US. And as far as the length, folks who are new to baking have found it a comfort!
Hello. I would love to try this recipe i saw an interesting one on a website by a Portuguese lady, she actually cooked the flour and some of milk together first to create a thick paste then added the egg yolks sugar syrup and milk which had been simmered with the cinnamon and lemon. I have tried many versions of this and filling wise i found the method of pre cooking the flour was pretty good texture wise. Although my main issue is the pastry, it’s never the same as the ones you see in the shops in London, they have an almost filo type texture, whats the key to that pastry?!
Thanks for your recipe!
Elan, it would be hard to find a recipe for the pastry like the kind you find in Lisbon shops. The reason is the pastry is made in huge, huge sheets of alternating layers of pastry and a margarine-like fat. Then the sheets are rolled into large logs and chilled. The logs, which are about 15 inches in diameter, are pulled and tugged until they’re about an inch in diameter. So that’s what creates all those crazy circular layers.
Try this recipe and see if you like it. It does create thin crispy layers.
I have made this several times. My small adjustments are I put lemon zest from half a lemon in with the sugar and cinnamon, also I use heavy cream instead of milk. The custard sets up fine as described, than I caramelize the tops with a blow torch.
The pastry describe here is fine and does a great job. However, you must work with cold butter and keep it cold or the flour absorbs the butter. The butter is there to keep the layers of dough apart when it bakes – so it is nice and flaky…. mmmmmm.
Last note, even when I screwed up a batch–there were no leftovers!
Hey, Lawrence. I love your adjustments. I think my readers will get a lot out of them.
And I agree completely that the butter remain cold–except for the first step when you smear it over the rolled out dough. After that, it’s chill city. This recipe is the only example that I’ve seen in which butter is first softened then chilled to make a puff pastry.
Just made these, was worried as I’m in uk and had to convert from cups, but they worked out great. Just had to thank you, David, I think you’re amazing. Not only for the wonderful recipe, but taking the time to get back to people struggling, or asking for clarification… Bringing back memories of grandparents, going that extra mile.
Bravo, David, you are a top guy. You really have brightened my day, and improved my view on humanity in general. I’ll be on the lookout for your cookbooks!
Sam, I’m thrilled that the pastéis worked out for you.
Yes, it is indeed tricky to do U.S. and U.K. conversions. I just made traditional British pork pies with a lard crust, and I had to try it several times because of the conversions.
And thank you for your extremely kind words. You have no idea idea how much they mean to me.
Hello David,
After making Marcela’s Bolgonese I knew you had great recipes on this site. I just stumbled upon this recipe while looking at your site and I can not believe my eyes (I subscribed by the way). I just had one of these tarts for the first time several months ago at a Chinese Bakery. I thought it was among the best tasting desserts I have ever tried and I found it quite intriguing. Is the pastry dough basically a puff pastry dough?
Also, I visited Portugal in the late early 90’s and tasted the most delicious home cooked meal which was made with rice, baccalau and it had boiled sliced eggs on top, maybe parsley? It was served on a large platter. It was so delicious. I was in my early 20’s at the time and although I appreciated food I was still in college and I did not pay as close attention to food details as I do today, but I still remember that stood out as one of the most delicious meals I had in Portugal. Would you by any chance know a dish that would be similarly prepared?
Hello Mrs E. Yes, indeed, that sauce is fantastic, isn’t it?
As far as the cod dish, that was most likely bacalhau com arroz. It usually includes onions, rice, olives, and olive oil. A very simple dish. Do you remember if the rice was white or yellow? I’m going to ask one of our recipe testers, Sofia, who is also Portuguese, to weigh in here.
Hello Mrs. E. As David already said the dish is most likely Arroz de Bacalhau. It usually is a tradtional meal from the North of Portugal, most specifically from the Minho region. The dish is very simple to make as all it has is dry (salt) cod fish, rice, onions, garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, salt & pepper then decorated with parsley. Let us know if you would like a recipe and I will make sure David sends it directly to you.
Hi Sofia! If you don’t mind me asking, I’d love to have the recipe if possible! I’d really appreciate it! Thank you!
Just reading these replies. Thank you David and Sofia! Yes, I would love the recipe for Arroz de Bacalhau, if possible the yellow rice and white rice versions. Thank you.
I can’t wait to make these for my family tonight as a valentines dinner surprise, with fresh berries and whipped cream on the side. All of the components are in the fridge ready to go as I want to serve these warm as suggested. Wish me luck! David I love your site, you are an inspiration, and I loved your write up about Ina Garten that was featured today. Don’t we all love her? You made me feel as if I was there as I read your account. You are a great writer. Thanks for sharing all of these wonderful recipes.
Hi David, I made these tonight and they were delicious and I was thanked by family for this wonderful dessert. The down side of this recipe is that I created an actual grease fire in my oven which was kind of scary. The melted oil dripped away from the tarts as they were baking and onto the oven burner below, I probably should have placed a sheet pan on the second row. Do you ever have escaped grease when baking at the high temp? My mini muffin wilton pan did not have a lip on the edge of the pan, smooth edges all around so the grease just dripped. Any thoughts?
Mrs E, can you tell me more about the grease? I’ve never had that happen to me. When you say oil, what do you mean? There’s no oil in the recipe.
Hi David, I am a little late in the reply. To follow up on your question regarding the oil dripping when baking, it was the oil from the butter that dripped away from the mini muffin tray. As I recall, I did chill my dough, if my memory serves me correct I chilled for two hours rather than overnight. I am wondering if the dough was not cold enough?
Mrs E, the dough could have been chilled a bit more. Was there a lot of dripping? Were you using a mini muffin tin?
Yes David, mini muffin tin and enough butter dripping to cause some smoke and a flame in the oven. I did read your suggestion below regarding making the dough not as high up to the top of the non rimmed pan but I love those exposed browned edges of the tart. I think my solution may be to chill the dough and get a rimmed pan. When you make these, do you have any liquefied butter that oozes away from the tarts while baking?
Mrs E, no, I don’t have any butter oozing from the pan. Let’s chat on the phone about this and perhaps we can get to the bottom of this.
Hi David, Thanks for your accessibility to get down to the bottom of this. I will attempt the recipe once more with the adjustments you have suggested. I will pay closer attention to the chilling time and pan I use, I will make sure to use a rimmed pan. On a separate note, if you have a favorite recipe for Arroz de Bacalhau, I would love it!
Mrs E, my pleasure. Let’s see if any of our readers or testers have a recipe for arroz de bacalhau. Sofia?
Hello everyone! I am pretty much an amateur when it comes to baking/cooking. Back in January I attempted to make these but failed when trying to roll out the dough. It was extremely sticky and while I was able to roll it out close to the specified dimensions, it was tearing to pieces when I went to fold it over. I kept trying to patch things up but it was getting worse so I just gave up and planned to try it again in the near future.
Well, last week I had a bit of free time so I gave it another go. I am extremely happy to report that this time they turned out absolutely amazing! I’m sharing exactly what I did in hopes that it will help anyone else that has run into a “sticky” situation with the dough.
Instead of adding all the water at once to the flour, I added it in small amounts until the dough was the right consistency and didn’t get to the point of being sticky. I used slightly less than the “3/4 cup plus two tablespoons water” listed. When I was happy with the dough, I followed the directions EXACTLY as stated and everything went without a hitch! It is sooooo important to make sure you flour your work surface properly. I also placed my marble rolling pin in the fridge for a half hour to chill it since I read somewhere that this helps prevent the dough from sticking to it. Once I rolled the dough close to the specified dimensions, I trimmed the edges using a pizza wheel cutter which I found made quick work of it and kept the edge nice and straight. Of course, a knife will do the same trick. Once the butter was spread on the two-third section, I used my pastry scraper to carefully lift the unbuttered section and fold it over. I then continued with the rest of the steps following the same method. Just be patient and take care not to rip the dough since it is very thin when you roll it out to the full dimension. I made the dough a day ahead so it could chill overnight. The following day, I cut the two logs as close to the specified thickness as possible and placed the cut-ends flat in each well of my mini-muffin pan. Forming them in the well was easy enough…I squished the round down with my thumb and flattened it around the sides.
For the custard I followed the recipe/directions exactly as stated and found it to be easy-peasy to make and I had no issues with it. After spooning the custard into the prepared pan, in the oven they went.
When the crust was nice and golden I took them out and used a torch to make the tops look pretty. Oven time took about 12 minutes because I kept peeking to make sure they were baking properly and not burning. I hate opening the oven while baking but I spent way too much time with the dough to have it burn on me.
I have tried several pastéis from various bakeries and couldn’t wait to compare these homemade ones. I was dying to try one and waiting for them to cool down felt like an eternity. When I took the first bite out of one I was at a complete loss for words. These tasted just like the original ones! Maybe even better!! The shell was so fresh, nice and light, buttery and combined with the custard, they were magnificent!
John, Im gobsmacked. Just gobsmacked. I’m so happy you mastered the recipe and enjoyed the pastéis. These are without a doubt my favorite Portuguese recipe.
David, my success making these would not have been possible without your guidance and tips along the way. I honestly can’t see myself buying these from a bakery ever again. I will be making another batch this Easter weekend! I’m also going to attempt making the Pasteis de Coco and will let you know how they turn out. The recipe looks straight forward and I don’t anticipate running into any problems.
What I do is make several batches of the dough (the hardest part, as you know) and freeze the logs. Whenever I want pastéis, I let a log defrost in the fridge, make the filling, and go for it.
AS far as the Pastéis de Coco go, you’ll be fine. That is an easy-peasy recipe.
thanks for the recipe! I just shared this post on Facebook.
Thank you!
Hi, just wondering about the stirred butter for the pastry – do you measure before or after stirring the butter? I am in the UK so using weight rather than volume and the density of stirred butter is about 1/3 less that that of a block of butter. I am hoping to make a gluten-free version of these for a friend who loves pasteis de nata but has recently had to go gluten-free. Am using an all-purpose gluten-free flour, have no idea whether it will work because of the change of flour and the conversion of units but am going to go for it…. Thanks!
Hi, Indi. You stir the butter after you’ve measured it out. The weigh of the butter (8 ounces) in metric is 226.8 grams.
I’m curious to see how well the pastries come out using gluten-free flour. Please pop back in and let me know.
David! You’re so nice, always responding and helping everyone make these adorable treats! My boyfriend’s family is from Portugal and when I went to New Jersey, we found a shop that carried these that reminded them of home! Thanks to you, I can now make millions of these little babies and give them out to the whole family, a sweet treat that brings back memories. Thank you so much for posting.
Micaela, my pleasure. It’s what I’m here for!
Just made for the first time. Delicious! But, never having eaten them before I am not sure if the center should be cake like or custard like? What is the correct way? Many thanks. Mel
Hi Richard, so glad that you liked them. The filling should be a firm custard. Not runny, bet definitely not cake-y. Let me know if that helps.
Hello David, just getting back to you about the gluten-free tarts – well, they tasted delicious but the pastry was certainly different.
When I was preparing the flour and water mixture, it seemed too sticky–was sticking to my fingers (did not have a mixer with dough hook, etc) but not so much to the bowl but I couldn’t transfer it well enough so had to throw in more flour so that it wouldn’t all just stick to the rolling pin or the surface. This was despite the gluten-free flour mix that I used (Doves Farm white all-purpose for UK readers) advising to use slightly more water than recipes recommend for wheat-flour recipes, which I don’t think I did but I was not at home and the measuring jug and weighing scales were possibly a little off. I think that that was my mistake though as it was then really floury.
Then, when rolling, there were times when the pastry was cracking and seemed too dry. It was a bit tricky but I just tried to do the best that I could do. However, it was a struggle again for making the log and it probably wasn’t thin enough or rolled tightly enough.
The custard part was easy, no sweat. But when it came to cutting the log and moulding it to the pan ready for the custard to be poured in, more difficulties. Again, it started to crack if I rolled the log, so, I just pressed it instead, which seemed to work well. But spreading the pastry in the muffin cups didn’t work well either so I ended up having to just squash it around and lose the layers :(
However, the final result, though not exactly right as I didn’t have the layers, tasted beautiful and was a hit with everyone! I don’t have fantastic photos but would like to show you how it looked.
Thanks a lot for the recipe, even though it didn’t work out perfectly, it still tasted amazing!
Indi, glad to hear the GF version worked for you. You can upload the picture here. And in the future, you’ll find a link right above the comment box that opens the uploader.
thanks for the great recipe, there are these other kinds that are made with bean i believe but most bakeries have them avail in orange, almond, beer, bean and sometimes other flavors, although they have the same sticky soft moist texture and I think, some make it with no shell at all, the filling itself seems to form a shell while baking whereas some make it with a very thin shell…. do you know what I’m talking about? You would be my hero (and the only one on the net so far as I’ve seen in all my searching!) if you posted a recipe with these including the different flavor variations.
i got so addicted to all these portuguese tarts when i was dating a portuguese guy, his mom (as my daughter called, vavo lol) used to bring us boxes of them all the time, (they were from brampton ontario, a huge portuguese community and therefore easy to find) my little brothers favs were the orange ones and every year on his birthday, id request a special box just for him. he would promptly take the box downstairs and not come up until they were gone! His bday is coming up and I would love to be able to make him some and ship them to him. (and of course eat a bunch myself!) I live in quebec now and sadly, theres not much of these bakeries around that ive found
thanks again :)
Jamye, I do know what you’re referring to. Unfortunately, I don’t have recipes for them, but I did find these on the Web. Now, I’ve never made these, so I can’t vouch for them, but they should at least give you a place to start. (Also, check out “Portuguese Homestyle Cooking.” Ana Ortins has come very good recipes.)
Orange: Pastéis de laranja
Bean: Pastéis de Feijão
Almond: Pastéis de Amêndoa
These recipes are all in Portuguese. I use Chrome, and I find that if a page is in a foreign language, Chrome will ask me if I want the page translated.
thanks so much! I’m going to start with the pasteis laranja and work my way through the others. I’ll also check out the other site you mentioned,
im using a mac (thus, safari, but I was able to get a rough translation….a few things that don’t really make sense (i had to look up what a “gema” is, haha,, found out its a yolk! shoulda guessed, portuguese cooking looooooves egg yolks, i have such an over abundance of leftover egg whites, its not even funny) but fortunately, I know my way around a kitchen and can mostly figure out how to make anything with basic ingredient guidelines lol)
will let you know how these recipes turn out.
Superb, Jayme. Send pictures, too!
David, I returned from Lisbon a few weeks ago, determined to try the delicious Pasteis de Belem I sampled there. I was thrilled to try this recipe! The resulting tarts were just delicious, except the crust was a bit tough. I’m thinking I must’ve used too much flour when rolling and buttering the dough. Also, as one other poster mentioned, once in the oven, the liquified butter from the tarts splattered and spilled onto the bottom of the oven and caused quite a lot of smoke. Do you have any suggestions for correcting these two problems next time? I will try them again, just to impress my traveling companions!
Laurie, so glad you liked the pastéis. How I wish I could make the EXACT pastéis served at the Confeitaria de Belém. I’d be rich!
Regarding the toughness, how long did you let the dough rest? Also using less flour when shaping and rolling is the best way to avoid tough pastry. Mine are usually very crispy and the shatter sometimes.
As far as the butter spilling out, you can make these in a larger tin but go only halfway up the well wall with the pastry. That way if there is an overflow, it won’t spill out.
In Lisbon, they have special molds that sit on large trays so that if there is overspill, and there is, it’s caught by the try. So you can do something similar by sliding a rimmed baking sheet in the oven before preheating then place the tin on top. If it does spill over, at least it’s not spilling on your oven floor.
Hi David!
I’ve been making these pasteis on a fairly regular basis with continued success. I have a quick question which is more out of curiosity than with the actual recipe. Why is the dough only rolled out three times? I understand it’s to create layers but why not roll it out more than three times? Would there be no added benefit to this?
Hey, bikerunbake. My understanding is that because there is so little dough, any more rolling would defeat the layering because it would all schmoosh together. (Schoosh is a technical baking term.) In Portugal, especially at the Confeitaria de Belém, they make the dough ns huge amounts and can afford an extra turn. But even in classic French puff pastry, there are only four turns.
Thanks David! That makes total sense and the last thing I want to do is “schmoosh” it all together :). I made three batches (in full-size muffin pans) this past weekend for a birthday party where the majority of people (my family) are Portuguese. EVERYONE absolutely loved them and couldn’t believe they were homemade. Some even sneaked a few to take home with them! What a great feeling and such a compliment to your recipe. Thanks again.
Sr. Pereira, you made my day! Thank you.
HI David, I just made these and they look great but is the pastry supposed to THAT crisp and hard? When I made the dough at the start I had to add a lot more water to get it to form a pillowy-soft ball. I also kneaded it for quite a while but did manage to let the pastry rest in the fridge overnight. Where did I go wrong? Thank you!
Get HO, the pastry should be crispy, but not hard. I suspect it was the extra water that did it. What kind of flour were you using?
Hi David – I’ve been making these with your recipe since returning from a trip to Portugal a few years ago. They may be my favorite dessert ever. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
I just made a double batch in normal-size muffin cups over the weekend, and everything turned out fine. But I was trying for those “Belem spots” on the top by putting the try under the broiler for a couple of minute at the end. Unfortunately, the pastry started to get too brown before the custard even started to color. However, I thought of another idea to run by you — I’ve been cooking bread and pizza in the barbecue for years with great success with a thick pizza stone (homemade with firebrick). The BBQ easily gets up to 700+ degrees. I realize the bottoms of the pasteis could easily burn, but, in the past, I’ve circumvented this issue baking other items in the BBQ by putting that thick pizza stone on at the same time as the baked goods. Have you ever tried something of the sort?
Kathleen
Kathleen, I haven’t tried that, but it’s worth a shot. Where I thought you were going was to use a kitchen torch, similar to the torches used for crême brulée. My only concern with your method is how cooked the bottoms will be, as, unlike bread, the pastéis cook for so little time. Will you give it a try and report back to us?
Will do, David. I was wondering about the bottoms myself. For bread, I preheat the stone for 15 minutes with all 3 burners and the searing station on high, but boy does that crust turn out nice. Guess I’ll just have to suffer through eating multiple batches so I can experiment with exactly when to put the bread stone on! I’ll let you know how it goes. Obrigada!
De nada, Kathleen!
I made these last night. Absolutely fabulous. Do you think that the creme brûlée torch would work?
So glad you liked them, Julia. The torch wouldn’t work to cook them, but to give it some extra brown spots on top, yes.
Hi David. I just ordered the aluminum custard cups from ebay. Will I need to spray them before placing in the dough? Also, I am a perfectionist and I want the dark spots. Can I use a food torch?
Lynn, I would spray them lightly, but it will make it harder for you to stretch the dough. Also, you’ll need more dough per cup because the cups are bigger than the wells of a mini muffin pan. And, yes, you can use a torch to spot the top of the pastéis.
Okay David. Thank you so much! I will let you know how they turned out.
You bet, Lynn.
Does it matter if you use sea salt or regular table salt? Want to try these for my dad’s birthday he is from Portugal.
costa, no that little bit won’t matter. Send your dad my best wishes for his birthday.
Hey David. I’ve been trying to master these in my workplace kitchen. i have not yet tried your recipe but will be trying it very soon. So far i have been using commercial puff pastry and haven’t got the crispy texture i want. I was just wondering, some recipes roll the dough into a log like yours and then push and roll out the dough using a rolling pin, do you think it is better to hand mould them or would it have no effect at all? could that method be done with your dough recipe? Thanks.
kaila, thanks for writing. I think commercial puff pastry has too much flour in it, from what I’ve experienced. The dough in my recipe is far crunchier because the layers tend to be thinner. I don’t think the jelly-rolling, slicing, and rolling out with the rolling pin would work well for my recipe. Nor is it how they do it in Portugal. There seems to be something in the technique of using your thumbs to coax the dough up the side of the well.
Hi David
I’m planning on making these this weekend however I have two problems:
1. I dont have a stand mixer or a food processor, so how can I mix these by hand without over working the dough?
2. I also dont have a candy thermometer, is there anyway to make the custard without it?
Cassandra, you can use a hand mixer or you can use a wooden spoon. You’d just have to mix it more than 30 seconds or so. I don’t suggest working without a candy thermometer. It’s incredibly helpful in the kitchen and it will assure the pastéis are cooked to the right temperature. Otherwise they can get curdy.
David, greetings from Singapore! I’m just wondering, is that the correct amount of sugar? I’m known to have a sweet tooth but even I find the custard way way way too sweet. 1 1/3 cups of sugar is about 300 grams right? I must be doing something wrong because absolutely no one else has commented about it. I’m using the normal granulated sugar.
I know I can just reduce the sugar amount but I’m highly curious to find out why no one else has a problem with it. Is the sugar in Europe is less sweet perhaps? Thanks!
Hi Phillip. It’s about 270 grams. But don’t forget you have more than double that in liquid ingredients. Portugal is know for “tooth-achingly sweet” desserts so it is the correct amount–at least for this recipe. You might find others that call for less sugar.
Thanks David for the prompt reply. I have come to terms with the sweetness by reducing the sugar slightly, It turns out great!
I do have another question however. Do you know the size of the pasteis at Antiga Confeitaria? What kind of ‘cups’ do they use to bake the pasteis in? Is there a proper name for it?
That’s good to hear, Phillip. Can you tell me how much less sugar you used, for those interested in lowering it?
And as far as the tins goes, I don’t know of a special name for them. I’ve always called them “pastéis de nata tins.” The ones the Confeitaria uses have a 1/4 cup capacity (see the picture). I bought mine about 10 years ago at Tucha Gifts in Newark, NJ. Back then they were about $1.70 each. Realize if you use these, the cooking time and yield will differ.
Well I reduced it to 200 grams. Still on the high side of my sweetness range but at least it’s in the range. Thanks David for all the help!
Phliip, meu prazer.
David, congratulations on a spectacular recipe! I just returned from Portugal back to NZ two weeks ago. A highlight for me in Lisbon was the Belem bakery Pastéis de Belem and these sweet treats. A must try. Hence on my return I looked up a recipe an found yours. I cheated and used filo pastry but followed your custard recipe to the letter. I have to say that the resulting taste is bang on. Thank you so much, awesome!
Best regards
Tony from NZ.
Thanks for the kind words, Tony. I’ll forgive you for using phyllo pastry, It’s not exactly easy to make the pastry in the recipe. But so glad that you liked the filing. These little babies are my favorite Portuguese dessert ever.
hi david..i was wondering if u have a video of how to make these tarts?? it would be easier to follow..thank you! :)
Hi jem, no I don’t. Not at the moment. Sorry.
Hey, David. The recipe sounds amazing i’m going to have to try it first thing tomorrow, unfortunately my oven only goes up to 250°C, would it be ok if i just bake them longer, or would they not come out right?
-Nick
Hey, Nick. I wouldn’t bake them longer because they may overcook. Instead, bake them in the upper third of the oven. That should take care of everything. Remember, though, these are mini tarts. (The photo is of the regular-size tarts.) If you have the tins for the larger pastéis, you’ll need to cook those longer.
I just made these and my custard was slightly chunky :( I followed the recipe exactly. I only made a few because I wanted to make sure they were right. How can I make the custard party creamier? I didn’t use all of it to see if I can add something to fix it.
Hi Maria, when you mean chunky, do you mean grainy? Chances are your oven is too hot. Do you have an oven thermometer? You can’t rely upon the readout on most ovens. Also, how long did you bake them?
It is like creamy with chunks of custard. It was starting to burn the outside of the pastry but the custard was not browned. They were still amazing. I baked for 20 min until I saw the outsides starting to burn.
Maria, I think you baked the custard too long. The recipe says 8 to 9 minutes. These are made in mini muffin tins, and 20 minutes will definitely overcook the filling and singe the pastry.
can you but store made pastry cups instead of making your own dough?
Michelelle, you can actually buy the entire dessert at Portugalia Marketplace. I’m not sure if they ship.
David,
I’ve been using your recipe for a while now and I’ve got to say it is an absolute winner. Over the years I’ve eat more than my fair share of natas and the ones I make using your guidance are simply brilliant.
Every time I make a batch I am struck by what seems to be little short of magic.
I remember the first time I followed your guidance and I must admit that I was really sceptical about the custard – it just seemed too liquid and I couldn’t see, even in a really hot oven, how it was ever going to firm up. You will know that never were doubts quite so misplaced, the custard was fantastic (and so was the pastry!)
I’ve had a real good search through as many nata recipes on-line and in cook books and none I’ve seen come close to yours.
So you have my unending thanks and admiration,
Natan
Natan, thank you very much! I’m delighted you like them as much as you do. Tell me: Do you make them in the mini-muffin pans or in regular pastéis forms?
I needed to make a Portuguese food for my 4th grader to share with his study group when they did country reports. I was all set to make Caldo Verde (a personal favorite — also easy!) but the kid lobbied for these instead. They were a huge hit! One of my son’s friends even asked me if I would make them for him for his birthday.
It was my first try at making puff pastry and your directions were great. I did have some trouble with the dough tearing in spots because it was so thin, but just kept finessing it, and it all worked out in the end. I felt like a genius when it baked up with the thin layers showing around the edges of the tarts!
I used my thumbs to begin shaping each slice of dough, as directed, but found that my pointer fingers worked best for getting it nicely shaped. Short fingernails are a must for this.
I somehow got 45 mini tarts out of this and still had a full cup of the custard mixture left over. I poured it into a well-buttered loaf pan so that it made a layer about 3/4 inch deep and baked it until set (about 10 minutes), oven temp turned down to 400°F, after all the tarts were out.
Thanks for a delicious, successful recipe!
emmegebe, how wonderful to hear! I love when kids are introduced to food at an early age. Do you by any chance have pictures?!
The crust of the ones I made were quite hard and I don’t know why. I need HELP PLEASE!!!!!
Whitney, just to be certain: They were hard not crunchy? A few things. 1.) You used the correct amount of water? 2.) Did you refrigerate the dough the full amount of time? 3.) When you sliced the logs, did you notice an even spiral of butter and flour?
If the answer to all of those is, “yes,” you might not be used to working with puff pastry. In that case, I’d suggest using commercial puff pastry instead. Simply roll out one sheet, coat it with a thin layer of butter (so it will adhere), and roll it up as specified in the recipe. Chill it and cut into the correct size pieces.
Well. I’m a baker at heart.
Born to bake, forced to work :) Anyway, I don’t have much time to fuss around and try recipe, adjust them to my liking and so forth…
So, when I find one that works the very FIRST time, I think it’s great! This recipe is wonderful!! came out perfectly, exactly like I wanted it and how it’s supposed to be. Easy step by step instructions make less intimidating.
The only bad thing: the little tarts are bite size and tend to disappear quite fast… Nice problem to have!
Thank you David! I’ll make this recipe many times more.
Rosa, first, the picture is gorgeous. Second, I adore you. I want to marry you–I don’t care if you’re already married. We can work it out. (The One won’t mind too much.) All kidding aside, thank you for the kind words. They went right to my heart.
I can’t wait to make some of these! I was looking at a magazine that had a picture of delicious looking Portuguese Custard Tarts and when I Googled for a recipe, I found yours. Apart from my delight at finding it I’m loving reading the questions and your lovely responses! Thank you!
Catherine, thank you for your lovely words. I hope you like the recipe. These are mini pastéis, as the recipe says, so the final product is a bit different from those glorious ones at top, which are from the bakery in Portugal!
Hi David,
I found your recipe a year back and always wanted to try making it because these are my favorite desert to buy when I visit my family in Portugal. My aunt has always discouraged me because apparently they are extremely difficult. Since I am a pretty decent cook I decided to try them tonight. I used the proper tins from Portugal and found that I needed to dot the dough with the fork a little because the pastry did blow up a bit in my trial run. I also found that the temperature was a little bit too high because my oven automatically turns 500 f to broil… I lowered it to 475f and found that it fixed the problem. Thank you again and I will look for your book!
Vanessa, you are more than welcome. And thanks for your tweaks. They might be able to help others–and that’s what we’re all about!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I went to Portugal a few years ago and had these in Belem, and was so happy to find the recipe on your website! I made them for Christmas Eve this year and even though I was sick and run down, I didn’t find this too complicated. They were a huge success! Such a lovely and simple dessert!! Thanks again!!
Jenna, how wonderful to hear. (Not the sick part, but that you found them easy to make and that they were a hit!)
Hello David,
I wonder if I can use a vanilla pod if I don’t have any vanilla extract?
Best regard
Ulla
Hello, Ulla. Sorry for the late reply; I was abroad. You really can’t use vanilla pods, as you won’t get the same flavor. But you can make your own vanilla extract with this recipe.
Hi David, I grew up in Hong Kong where these are a serious local specialty (because of the closeness of Macau). Despite the fact that the area where I now live in Argentina had a big Portuguese immigration about 50 years ago, there isn’t a single place I can buy these and I never imagined I could make a decent version myself. But then I tried your recipe yesterday and they were AMAZING! Thank you so much! The pastry came out super flaky, the filling just right. Thank you thank you.
Victoria, you are more than welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed them. They are a favorite around here, too.
I’ve had this recipe saved as a bookmark for a long time, as I love these tarts, but for some reason never got round to trying it! I had tried some other recipes which never got near the real thing, so I suppose I had almost given up. We visit Portugal every few years as we have a family flat there opposite an incredible bakery, which we buy tarts from of course.
Anyway, just back from our last visit and I decided I needed to give it a go. It worked amazingly well! The pastry was so crisp and the custard just right. I didn’t expect such a good result in a normal domestic oven.
So, thank you! I will be making more of these (dangerous!).
Emily, what a delight to hear. I’m so happy that you enjoyed them. They’re one of my favorite. This dessert is extremely hard to do justice to, especially in the home oven. Brava to you!
Hi,
I have seen some recipes using heavy cream instead of milk. Witch one is more appropritate? And if it is milk, should it be whole milk ?
Can’t wait to make those !!
Thank you
camilla, it is a bit confusing, as “natas” means cream in Portuguese. But the recipes that I have, and have studied, use whole milk.
I know this question is absolutely ridiculous but just simply love the custard from the Natas. Is there anyway to get the custard without having to make the dough?
Bryan, sure. But you can’t bake it. You’d have to spoon it from bowl and eat it.
I’ve been making these since spending a summer in Albufeira and returning to the states a few years ago. I feel like it gave me a good start. I use muffin tins since that’s what I have on hand (I’m kicking myself for not buying tins while I was there). But I only use 3/4 cup sugar (per batch I usually double the custard – so 1.5 C for double the custard). Because made as is this was WAY sweeter than the Pastel de Nata we ate there. And part of what I love about them is how unsweet a pastry they are.
Hi Elizabeth, so glad you liked them. Traditionally these are a very sweet dessert. The Moors are responsible for introducing ultra-sweet eggy desserts to Portugal. And the bakery where these originated in the 1800’s still makes then quite sweet. I wonder if there’s a regional difference in Albufeira becuase it’s such a tourist destination?
Finalmente! Depois de muitas tentativas encontrei uma que fica bem em casa! Se bem que nao usei a calda toda… Obrigado pela receita!
Você é mais que bem vindo, Tina. Estou feliz que funcionou para você.
Oi David, thanks for the recipe! I was wonderful if it were possible to freeze the mixture for the pasteis themselves?
Dani, you’re welcome. I’m not really sure if you can do that. Freezing uncooked eggs changes their texture. I do know that people freeze the whole cooked pastry, but I find it becomes soggy when reheated.
as a baker your recipe makes me suspisious but I gave it a try.
The flour in europe is not as strong as in the US so for euro bakers put less water. The amounts giving here makes for a really wet dough, more a batter than a dough.
The soft butter makes it very easy to smear on the dough. It worked remarkably good.
The custard is extremely sweet but I guess that helps making the dark spots on the custard.
I did not really understand your custard making. I mixed the flour and milk. Heated the other part of the milk and mixed with the former. The sugar must just dissolve. It’s a pity the cinnamon stick is only in the mixture for such a short time. I left it overnight in the custard to infuse a little longer.
I used the following metric recipe.
230 g flour AP
150 g Water
2 g salt
225 g butter (soft)
Custard:
30 g flour
300 g Milk (divided into 60/240 gr)
270 g sugar
150 water
6 yolks
Pastry is in the fridge now. Will come back tomorrow. Thank you for this recipe it was hard to find a ‘good one’.
tim
tim, curious to see how it turns out.
Yes, European flours are very different than US flours. As far as the custard being sweet, the Portuguese like their desserts very, very sweet. It’s a hallmark of their cookery. A bit less sugar wouldn’t hurt the recipe.
Regarding the method of custard making, I try to be faithful to how I learned the recipe. The mixing of the small amount of milk with the flour is to make sure there are lumps. (But…I suspect this might be a step that was used when the chef may have used cornstarch; as you know cornstarch needs to be dissolved in a liquid before it added to our recipe.)
One last thing, the image is from the Confeitaria de Belém. They will look more like those in the comment from Rosa.
Thanks for your quick reply! I could not wait and made a batch tonight. The pastry was nice and cold anyway.
I cooked them 10 minutes at 300C and got some tiny dark spots on the tops. After cooling down I tried one. the pastry is nice and flaky (although i will use even less water next time for the dough) but the custard overcooked and the taste is only sweet. I can’t find anything back of the lemon peel (I added instead of vanilla) let alone the cinnamon. Will tweak a bit, but there’s a start.. :)
tim, I think it’s great that you’re diving into this and have a good start already.
A few thoughts: Perhaps knock back your oven to 260°C/270°C? Also, is your oven calibrated?
Also, try cutting the sugar by a third. That should help. But know that this is truly a sweet treat.
I am so confused regarding the pastry dough. The measurement were so exact, yet when I added 3/4 water plus two tablespoons to the 2 cups flour less two tablespoons, I ended up with very, very wet batter that could not be worked with. When I checked with other recipes they seemed to be using much less water which formed into something you could hold in your hand like pie dough.
It did not clean the sides of the mixing bowl and was more like a really thick cake batter.
I dumped half of it out and added more flour and now am waiting the 15 minutes before adding the butter/margarine. Hope it works!.
Jean, the dough is definitely not like pie dough. The directions refer to it as “soft pillow dough.” I just made a batch, and you can see it here. When poked with a floured finger, it holds the indent. I think you used too little flour or too much water.
what does “milk, divided” mean” ty.
Sure thing, Lisa. Take a look at steps 9 and 11. Step 9 calls for 1/4 cup milk while step 11 calls for the remaining 1 cup of milk. Together that’s 1 1/4 cups milk.
Hi David,
There is a high population of Portuguese people living in my community. I have had Pasteis de Nata at my local farmer’s market and instantly fell in love. I made puff pastry for the first time ever few days ago and went searching for recipes to try. I found this one and decided to give it a go (I love your site, been here many times). They came out absolutely fantastic. Your right, my oven did not brown the tops at all, but it didn’t matter much because they were still delicious. When my son came home his eyes nearly popped out of his head because he loves this dessert. I have never been to Portugal so I cannot compare but for me, I just wanted to say that, this recipe was amazing. Thank you for sharing with us!
Lynne, that’s wonderful to hear. So glad you and your son enjoyed the recipe! Any pictures, perchance?
I just recently returned from a vacation in Portugal and ate these tarts at various bakeries including the quintessential Belem tarts. When I returned home I immediately had to make them myself and decided to try my luck with this recipe.
I used normal sized muffin tins and extended the baking time to 17 minutes. Many thanks for sharing this recipe!! I am so pleased with the results!!! I have been sharing them with my husband, family, friends, coworkers–and they all enjoy them!! I am being requested to bring them to parties and potlucks and they always go fast!!
Deb, you are more than welcome. I’m so happy you enjoy the recipe!
gave these a bash now. only had two eggs, so had to apply some math to get the ratios right. the custard is runny like yellow milk, but i checked some comments and saw that’s normal. i didn’t do the dough, because as usual i don’t read a recipe a day or so before i try it. i ended up using a half roll of puff pastry, which turned out to be too much, sort of – i cut the slices a bit thick, so the pastry is about 5mm or so over the top. if i cut them thinner, then i think i would have been able to make a few more as there’s a little of the “yellow milk” left. :) i got about 12 out of it. i also think my muffin tray is a bit smaller than the one you suggest (it’s the only one we have).
i’ll have to try this recipe a few times to figure it out. i’m also quite keen to make the dough as well. i’ll give it another bash in a few weeks and do the dough on saturday so i can bake on sunday.
30 minutes later….
took them out the oven, let them cool down while i washed up the entire house (i tend to make the flour go EVERYWHERE) and finally made a coffee and sat down. took a bite and oh man, they’re nice. better than the shop’s ones i think. perfect for like a party snack seeing as they’re so tiny. great recipe. will definitely be doing this again.
(my wife’s engrossed in her writing, so she better snap out of it soon or else she’s going to end up only having the two i put on her plate… or i might also steal those and claim she was just imagining that i was baking)
wernich,
I’m happy you liked the pastéis. And you seem like a nice, decent guy, so I’m not going to chide. (But, dude! You gotta read the recipe! Think how much better they’d be.)
When you make them again, and I hope you will, tell me how they come out. And I certainly hope your poor wife, who was slaving over her writing, got to have a few.
Hi David,
Thank you so much for this recipe! I just attempted it for the first time, and it turned out pretty well, but I had a few issues (apologies in advance for the long post).
When making the dough, after adding the butter, folding, and rolling again, the butter squished out of the edges. I think this may have been because of air bubbles. I tried to get them out but I guess I didn’t get all of them. Is this normal?
Also, I found the pastry to custard ratio was higher than I would have liked. I think this is because of the mini muffin tins. I couldn’t fit much filling into each pastry. I was thinking of trying again with a full-sized muffin tin and was wondering if anyone has had success with full-sized muffin tins.
I also had an issue with butter dripping from the pan and smoking up my oven. I’m not sure if this is because the butter wasn’t fully contained in the layers of dough (see above)? The dough itself turned out pretty perfect–very similar to the authentic ones–so I’m inclined to think there was nothing too wrong with it.
Finally, a few of the natas lost most of their filling as it spilled over the top. I’m thinking this could also be fixed by using a larger muffin tin. Thoughts?
Thanks!
Melissa, first let me say the pastries look pretty damn good! Brava. Let me try to address your concerns the best I can.
1. With the squishing out of the butter, the air bubbles can cause that as well as getting the butter too close to the edge. Step 4 says to get the butter to 1 inch of the edge. This instruction takes into consideration the fact that it will spread when rolled again. If this begins to happen again, let the dough with the butter spread on top sit in the fridge for a bit. Also, your kitchen might be too warm.
2. Because it can be hard for larger pastries to cook all the way through before burning on the bottom is the reason we call for the mini-muffin tin. (As the LC note above says, the ovens in Portugal get up to 800 degrees, which flash bakes these.) Some folks have had success with regular-size muffin tins. Read through the comments for some tips. But also, you might be putting in too much dough for the size of your mini tins. Don’t worry about using all the dough. The raw shell itself should be thin on the bottom as well as the sides, getting slightly thicker at the top.
3. The butter dripping from the pan happens to me, too. Since they came out well, I wouldn’t worry about it.
4. The filling spilling over the top is most likely due to the bottoms of the dough shells being too thick. It expands, causing the custard to spill over.
HI David,
I’ve made lots of different types of baked custards before. I recently learned about pastel de nadas and stumbled upon your blog. I wanted to try out the recipe, but as I’m reading it, it says to make a soft candy syrup. This is the first time I’ve heard of making a custard by cooking the sugar to the soft thread stage. Could you please tell me the purpose of this step?
Hi Cuong, from what the chef told me, you want the syrup temp high enough so that when it’s added to the milk-flour mixture it will cook off the flour flavor and makes the mixture warm enough, but not so warm that it will then cook the eggs.
Hi David
I have been making these delicious custard cups for a while and I just have a question I’m hoping you can maybe give me some guidance. Lately if I save them from one day to the next they seem to crack in the center and look like they are old. Is there a reason this is happening. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Sally
Sally, that’s not uncommon. Sudden cooling can cause them to contract and crack. So can overbaking. (Have you check your oven’s temp?) The thing is, these little jewels are best eaten the same day. They’re never as good as they are on the day you make them, hot out of the oven.
Hi David,
Wow! You have a lot of Q&A from people…so I apologize if this is a repeated question.
I will be going to Lisbon in a few weeks and am really looking forward to having A LOT of Pastel de Natas!!!!! So my questions to you are:
I know your recipe calls for All purpose flour, however, for true authentic Pastels de Natas do they use a specific flour that can be bought in Portugal or London? And, can you freeze the pastels for another day? If so, how do you recommend thawing it to obtain the crisp?
Wonderful blog by the way… very informative.
Kind regards,
Caliclare
Caliclare, I’ve not heard of the Portuguese using any particular type of flour. I’ve always be instructed to use all-purpose. And I wouldn’t suggest freezing. These little bad boys won’t do well in the freezer. And if I may, I suggest you try the pastéis at the Confeitaria de Belém. The original. And if you try to make these after you go, realize they won’t the same. It’s hard for a home version to live up to the great ones at the Confeitaria.
David, thanks so much for the recipe. We were in Portugal last October and loved these!! We try not to overdo the sweets, but these tarts were so great we could not–and did not–resist!
You are more than welcome, Pam!
Hi David,
I am hoping to make the pastry tonight however, I have re-read the instructions (& read basically every comment) but I am still struggling with understanding what you mean here:
4. Brush the excess flour off the top of the dough, trim any uneven edges, and, using a small offset spatula, dot and then spread the left 2/3 portion of the dough with a little less than 1/3 of the butter being careful to leave a 1 inch plain border around the edge of the dough.
5. Neatly fold the unbuttered right 1/3 of the dough (using the pastry scraper to loosen it if it sticks) over the rest of the dough. Brush off any excess flour, then fold over the left 1/3 of the dough. Starting from the top, pat down the dough with your hand to release any air bubbles, and then pinch the edges of the dough to seal. Brush off any excess flour.
So I butter 2/3 of it, and then stretch the unbuttered 1/3 out so it covers the other 2/3 and roll? Sorry – I just cannot get my head around this point. I’ll have to youtube puff pastry recipes online to see if anyone uses a similar technique.
Thanks
Claudia.
Think of a letter, Claudia, that’s folded in thirds, but instead of the folds being horizontal, they’re vertical. (Have the top of the letter to the left, the bottom of the letter to the right.) Butter the top and middle sections of the “letter.” Fold the bottom third over the just the middle third. Now fold the top third over the bottom third–the same way you fold a letter. So now you should have a folded letter of dough that has three layers of dough with two layers of butter: dough, butter, dough, butter, dough. Better?
Thanks for the clarification David. We got there in the end (two of us figured it out haha). My dough is in the fridge now and I am going to make the custard tomorrow night. I think my dough came out all wrong though… Maybe there wasn’t enough flour because the butter kept bursting through the dough and it was very, very sloppy and sticking to everything and hard to work with. I didn’t use as much water as the recipe called for as I had read the reviews.
This is my first time ever making puff pastry so I expect many mistakes to be made. Do you have any tips for me? I’m in Australia so not sure if there’s a difference in cups to volumes?
Claudia, I won’t mince words: This is a hard recipe, especially the dough. It takes practice. You do want to make sure things are nicely dusted with flour; that’s make fiddling with it easier. Also, try rolling it out on a floured nonstick sheet, if you have it, and when the butter gets obstinate, slide the whole thing in the fridge for a few minutes.
Thanks for the recipe, I can`t wait to try it!
Could you clarify how much confectioner’s sugar to use? I don’t see an quantities listed.
Cheers!
Rob, that’s “to taste.” The sugar and cinnamon are sprinkled over the finished pastries.
Ahh, it’s used as a garnish. I saw it listed with the ingredients to make the custard, and thought it was added in with everything else.
Thanks for your quickly reply.
Rob, excellent catch. I’ve amended the recipe to reflect your comment. Thanks!
Hi David, can I make the pastry without any kind of mixer? Is there any other alternatives for not using mixer at all? I don’t want to buy pastry in supermarket but I don’t have a mixer. Many thaks before, Monika
Monika, you can mix the dough with a wooden spoon. That’s how it was done years and years ago.
Thanks a lot, David. Will try out this recipe next weekend :)
You bet, Monika.
David, do you ever use lemon at all for your pasteis? I’ve had some amazing ones in Portugal and I always taste a tiny hint of lemon in there. But I could be wrong I guess, I’m no expert.
John, I don’t, but some people do use a bit of lemon zest in the custard.
Hi, David I’m making these for a school project. How do I ensure that they will turn out great and be tasty for my class? I’ve read some other comments about the dough. How do I make sure that does not happen to me?
Hi, Jessie. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can say except follow the directions very, very carefully. To be extra sure, why not make a batch before the project, that way you can know exactly what the whole process is like.
Hi David,
When storing the custard for later use in the fridge, do you warm it again prior to filling the pastry and baking it?
Hello, Peter, nope. Just ladle and bake.
Hi David……Do you have a recipe for Lemon Torte cake? (the one that looks like a rolled up pin wheel?)
Hi Susan, not a reliable one, and that’s what most important to me. If I find a good one, I’ll pass it on.
Hi Dave,
Thank you so much for your recipe. Everyone at my son’s graduation party loved your tarts. I couldnt believe they turned out so well given it was my first try. I have one question though, the instructions said to roll out the dough into 18 in square but there was not enough dough to do that. The most I could do was 10-12 inch. Also, for anyone who wants it less sweet, I reduced the sugar down to 150 grams and it was still delicious!.
anh, so happy to hear they were such a success! Congratulations, and on your first time. About the dough square, my only advice would be to keep rolling. It takes time and patience, but you do get there.
Hi David, i have not tried this recipe but i was just wondering if the 3-TBS flour for the custard was a typo or thats how it really was.
Luis, nope, that’s not a typo. It’s 3 tablespoons. Good luck!
Hi David! I can’t wait to try your recipe. My son is going to Lisbon early next month for some music festival. I am definitely asking him to bring me some pasteis tins. Can you suggest of other related stuff I should ask him to bring! When are you going to make a video of this recipe?
P.S. The website belongs to my son (junior), feel free to visit.
Eddie, hope you like it. I can say that what your son will have at the Confeitaria de Belém is a million times better than any recipe I have ever had from a home cook. The pastéis are divine. As far as related cooking items, how about a cataplana?
Hi David!!
Greetings from Singapore. I tried your recipe, and I really liked the cinnamon blend to it. I think I didn’t do great on the crust, but I can definitely try again. If I’m making the crust and custard in advance, how long can in keep them in the fridge? Should it be kept freezed or chilled?
Appreciate all your help!
Arianne
Arcane, thanks of the kind words. I admit this recipe is a hard one. You can keep the custard mixture and dough in the fridge for a few days. The dough can be frozen up to 3 months. You shouldn’t freeze the custard mixture.
Thanks for your prompt response David. I’m looking forward to my next trial session. Thinking of blending in a little lemon and cream cheese for some of my folks who love ’em this way. But I’m gunna keep the lovely cinnamon definitely. =)
Arianne, not sure how it will work with the cream cheese, as it will change the consistency and chemistry of the custard. But let me know how it turn out!
I just made these in standard muffin tins and they turned out PERFECT. I halved the recipe and got 12 muffin-sized pastéis. Read in the comments a bit, so I made sure the bottoms were thin and pricked with a fork. I pulled the dough up around the rim of the tins so it wouldn’t slide down too much, which worked fine, they shrunk just the right amount. About 7 min on 250°C, then 6-7 more on 225. Browned them a bit with one of those Créme Brulée -broiler thingies. My flatmates are already demanding more, so I will definitely do this again! Thank you!
Laura, you are more than welcome. So happy you and your flatmates like them! And what an excellent picture!!
Hi David! Thanks for the recipe, I loved them. I have one small question though, mine didn’t turn out “shiny,” the custard comes out of the oven opaque…What could I be doing wrong?
Maira, I wouldn’t worry about it. But tell me, did they set up shiny when cool?
Hello David,
A group of us are off to Lisbon and the Algarve next week and we had a planning dinner last night. A friend had told me about these tarts so I decided to make them and after surfing the net decided your recipe would be the closest to the real thing (which we’ve never had!)
I used commercial puff pastry and some smallish but not mini-muffin cups and despite my not reading your directions properly the tarts turned out not bad. In fact the others loved them! I just have a couple of suggestions, things that I found later by scrolling through the comments, that would be helpful if you added them to the directions: explain that the custard will be runny, but that it will firm up in the baking. (Other recipes require a thick custard so it becomes confusing). Also, you respond to one query by saying the dough should be paper thin, but you talk about 1/8″ in the directions. I think you could change that 1/8″ to 1/16″ as it makes a pretty thick base. Finally, as to the size of muffin tins, that is a challenge. I have several mini-muffin tins but they are smaller than your dimensions, so I had to go to one very old pan with smallish cups and one regular modern pan. There really wasn’t any difference in how they baked, other than I had to bake them for about 11-12 minutes. The hard part was figuring out how much pastry for each tin. I realised I had put too much in, but even so, the tarts were yummy. Thanks!
Hope, thank you so much for this. I’m so happy you enjoyed the tarts!
Hi! I bought a couple of boxes in Lisbon as gifts and I couldn’t give them out today. Should I refrigerate them for tomorrow or just leave them?
Thanks!
Antonia, they can be refrigerated, but you might get some puddling of liquid (sugar) on top. Just blot them with a paper towel. I always like to reheat them in a warm oven before serving again.
Dear David, is there a way to get the list of ingredients in grams? The converter on the page was of no help unfortunately. I bake a lot but I use scales- it’s easier and accurate. Scales are commonly used by home bakers across Europe. I can not even imagine trying to measure butter by spoon :) but being serious: not two cups of flour will weigh the same, as you know. Some flours are densely packed, some are not…
Marta, many thanks for your query. We completely agree with you that weights are vastly more accurate for baking. We’ve been including metric equivalents in our recipes for many months now but this recipe was developed prior to that using (you guessed it) cups and spoons. We’re retesting the recipe, using our metric conversions, and as soon as we have the amounts perfected we’ll drop you a note. Should take us no longer than a few days. Many thanks for your patience!
Thank you. I’m looking forward to revised recipe. I recalculated the recipe using on- line converters but I’m not sure if the end result was perfect. The dough was very pliable and soft, too soft to handle properly. Also my oven’s top temperature is 250C, What would be ideal baking time? I’d suggest adding slice of lemon rind as well as cinnamon stick while making custard and using a bit more salt in the dough.
Marta, was the dough pliable after it had been properly refrigerated? It shouldn’t have been.
As far as baking time, we didn’t test the recipe at 250°C, so you’ll have to watch carefully. My guess is an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
Many people do add lemon to the custard. That wasn’t what I was taught, but it is lovely!
Hi, David. Great recipe! The method for the puff pastry though was a little bit too advanced for me. Butter kept seeping out because it was probably hot in the house. The result was the pastry did not have layers and didn’t puff up so much. Do you think rough puff pastry method can be used? Also, I was wondering if I can use a vanilla bean instead of extract. Thanks!
Rodney, yes, rough puff would work. Just make sure to do the rolling process because it creates the characteristic spiral. And yes, vanilla bean would work, too.
Hi David! Thank you for the recipe. I just had a question.. it’s it 1 1/3 cups of sugar and 2/3 cups of water? Or is it 2 1/3 of water..? I want to make sure the ratio is exact. Thank you!
Hey, Jay. For the custard, it’s 1 1/3 cups sugar and 2/3 cup water. I’m not sure where you’re getting the 2 1/3 cups of water from. Can you tell me?
Can this be frozen once baked and if so for how long?
Nadine, nah. The texture of the custard and pastry will be less than ideal. Sorry.
Hi David
Do you have a video of this recipe, I’m a newbie at baking and just a little confused about folding the dough. Would be grateful if you can help, thanks.
Susan, I don’t. But there has been such a call for one, that I think I might have to make one!
That would be a great help if you can, I love eating these but not great at making them.
Hi, I’ve always been too afraid to even try to make these, but finally dared with this recipe, and it was a glorious triumph (in my humble opinion)! Thanks.
But I’d like to join the call for a metric version, especially for the pastry: All the converters I use result in too liquid a dough for the pastry (260gr flour and 200 gram water). At the moment I’m just adding flour until it seems stiff enough… And does one really need 225gr butter? I found 200gr plenty.
Similarly for the filling, 260gr sugar makes this very sweet, and I’m no sugar minimizer.
All I want for Christmas is the metric version, please, I’ve been a good boy.
I have a suggestion that I’m sure will improve this in any oven, but especially in ordinary kitchen ovens (max. approx. 240 C): Heat the oven on the maximum for at least 40 minutes with a “pizza steel/oven” or similar heat accumulator. Place the tin directly on the steel, and see the pastry crisp up even right at the bottom, I frankly don’t think it is worth baking this otherwise in a normal kitchen oven
Andre…and you didn’t take notes as you cooked so you could figure out the metric?! (Just joking.) After the holidays, we plan on tackling this. Right now all our kitchens are bursting with recipe testing as well as recipes for our families. But hang in there, it’s coming!
Hi, David – I am experimenting with making these pastries in preparation for a New Year’s Eve party next week. Used commercial puff pastry. Made them once in mini pans and did not like the result except that they did brown on top. The effort in regular muffin pans was better, but custard did not brown so I broiled for a couple of minutes – Then the custard was browned with the spots, but overdone a bit and the pastry was burned on edges. In both cases, I “blind-baked” the pastry shells, pricking the bottoms and using the technique with beans to keep the shell in place (have done this with pie shells for years). Next time I think I will have to bake them at a lower temp (350 F maybe) so that they don’t brown and later, when under the broiler, burn. Do I need to cook the filled tarts in regular muffin tins for less time or at a temp lower than 425 F so that they don’t overcook? Of course, I am comparing the results to what we had last fall in Portugal – Not there yet, but I will probably be happy if the pastry doesn’t burn and the custard is not overlooked! Oh – and I have your book “The New Portuguese Table,” in which the recipe does call for heavy cream instead of milk – Any comment on that?
Kathy, as I’ve said to others, this recipe is a tough one!! It’s so delicate and complicated. On top of that, you’ve made so many changes that unless I go through a series of batches recreating what you did, I really can’t give you a definitive answer!! I’m so sorry. I’ve never blind-baked the pastries. One suggest is trying a baking stone. It will allow for more even heating. Do you have a brulee torch? That might help direct the browning to the custard and not the pastry. I used cream in the cookbook recipe because people found the cream easier to use. Either is fine.
Hi, David – Thanks for answering. The recipe in your book does call for “blind-baking,” (filling the shells with rice or beans to pre-bake them) though it doesn’t use that terminology – Therefore, I assumed you had used this technique. In the most recent effort, the pastry was thicker after blind-baking, therefore didn’t hold as much custard. Maybe, I need to be sure to pay more attention to form-fitting each piece to the muffin cup sides, then pricking well and freezing before blind-baking. Nothing burned this time – I blind-baked at 350, then baked with the custard at 425, then broiled for a couple minutes to get some brown spots. Custard tasted great right after baking, but was a little overdone after it continued to cook on the counter. Put them in the fridge as I am trying to determine if I could make a day ahead of serving. Somewhere I read that it is possible to Reheat a bit before serving (Was that you or someone else??). What did you mean when you said that people found the heavy cream “easier״ to use than milk? How about light cream?
Ah, now I understand!! I added the blind baking instructions in the book because it calls for packaged pastry. (My editors felt the recipe would be too long if we included the pastry recipe, too.) There’s no need to blind bake with this recipe. The handmade pastry should be very thin as you pull it up the sides. Also, you’re using full-size tins versus the mini tins, which does make a difference. Regarding making a day ahead, I find they never come out the same. I prefer to let the handmade dough and custard sit overnight in the fridge and then assemble and bake them the day of if I’m in a rush. And about milk vs. cream, some testers found it easier to burn the milk rather than cream. If this doesn’t give you the answers you need, please drop me an email with your telephone number and we can chat. david [at] leitesculinaria [.] com.
Thanks again for your help. I think I had better blind-bake as I am using the packaged puff pastry. Maybe I can do that and then let the shells sit on the counter overnight and fill and bake on the 31st. How long would you feel comfortable about letting the finished custards sit unrefrigerated? Did I mention that these are for our annual New Year’s Eve dinner party at which we serve dishes inspired by the year’s travel (2016 included Cuba, Portugal, and Spain!). This is one of three desserts – The chocolate salami is done and in the freezer; the Pasteis de Tentúgal is a snap to make – I tested once and was happy with the result. Only P de Nata has given me fits – great test for whether or not your oven browns evenly!! I may have to chicken out and do them ahead. I did slightly reheat one tonight – Not bad and it would solve the problem of how long to leave unrefrigerated after baking. Interesting answer about the milk vs. cream. Maybe light cream is the answer. What do you think they use in Belem? I would love to chat with you – Will send you my phone number by email with a copy of this post.
Sounds like a divine dinner, Kathy. To make pastéis de nata well takes a lot of practice. And, if I am to be entirely frank, no cookbook recipe I have ever tried (and I have tried a gazillion) comes truly close to the original. So don’t be hard on yourself.
When I visited the Confeitaria de Bélem, I was told it’s the custard is a secret recipe. I can say that the custard that goes in the shells is thick. Much thicker than this recipe. But this version came from a former chef at the Portuguese restaurant Alfama in NYC, who is from Lisbon.
Once again, thanks! I think I will concentrate on 1) making sure the shells are really thin; 2) making the custard thicker (Hope this is not a mistake); 3) Watch the baking like a hawk to avoid burning.
And I think you’ll be very happy! I haven’t received an email from you yet. Have you sent it?
I did send it. Maybe it is in your spam folder. I will send it again and maybe we can compare notes AFTER New Years. Just made the Tentugal – Did I say it was a snap? Well, only if you live in a humid climate. It must have been a little bit humid in Denver last week. Today, however, is very dry and I could not work fast enough and uncover the filo, one sheet at a time, before it would totally dry out! So they are tasty, but not as pretty as last week’s.
Got it, Kathy! Happy 2017!
The Pasteis de Nata were very good. Attached is a photo. I decided to make the custard using mostly half-and-half cream and cornstarch instead of flour—this created a thick custard which I refrigerated overnight and baked in my prebaked shells which had sat on the counter overnight. I left the finished tarts on the counter until dinner time, when our New Year’s Eve guests polished off quite a few! Even the next morning, the leftover custards were smooth and thick though the crust had hardened. Someday, when I am not creating an entire dinner, I may make the dough from scratch.
David, I also made your codfish and shrimp fritters for appetizers, but didn’t get a chance to photograph them before they were all gobbled up (a huge success). My husband loves the milk mayo (we have a lot left of that).
Kathy, they look great! So happy everyone loved them. And I love that you made the codfish and shrimp fritters. They’re one of my favorites. Happy 2017!
Hi David, can I used half cream half milk? Also can I scrap a vanilla bean and add that instead of the vanilla extract.
David, what a kind generous person you are. Thanks for all of your amazing tips I am in Sunshine Coast Queensland Australia. I will attach a photo when I bake these.
Thank you.
Janine, I think you certainly can on both counts. I had only one way of making these until all of our wonderful readers came to us with variations. Looking forward to seeing your creations. And, thanks for the compliment.
Hi David I have just finished making the Portugese custard tarts unfortunately I had pools of butter and the pastry fried instead of puffing I did follow instructions (I thought ) very well but something definately went wrong! Do you have suggestions on overcoming this with the pastry, the custard tasted great
Thanks Tony
Tony, was the dough thoroughly, completely chilled? Is your oven correctly calibrated? If your oven is cool, it would cause the butter to melt before the pastry had a change to puff a bit.
Hi David,
I did it! I made the pastry with your recipe, except I used pure cream, no milk, vanilla bean, cornflour (cornstarch) instead of flour, and it all worked. The pastry isn’t as nice as yours but it was my first time making puff pastry, so it may get better?
I rested the dough overnight and used aluminum pans. I had the oven on the highest heat and cooked them for 15 minutes. I watched them and they looked like the wanted a longer time to cook. Here they are.
I grow a vanilla bean orchid, fresh vanilla beans on tap. See picture. They are expensive to buy but so easy to grow. Even a cutting they grow well. We have been to New York from the Sunshine Coast Queensland Australia many times and adored our time there.
I started reading your site and every stroke has the reader gaining personal growth. Amazing.
Since the death of my mother, I look at items I buy or hold dear, they are all about triggers of our memories. Things you can keep, that stay with you renewing precious memories from those no longer with us.
It is amazing that when you search the web for a recipe, you get a journey from an author with such depth and a soul that is so generous.
Thank you, David.
Kind regards
Janine
My, Janine. Those are handsome pastéis de nata! I’m sure with a bit of practice, the pastry will be perfect. And I’m jealous of you having a vanilla plant. Alas, it would never grown here.
Thank you kindly for your words. It means a lot to me. I never wanted to have have a site that was only recipes. I wanted to connect with readers in a different way, a more personal (and sometimes non-food) way.
Hi David,
When you say to cut the log in half, you mean to slice it crosswise and not lengthwise correct?
Thanks,
Stephanie
Exactly, Stephanie.
Hi David,
Pastéis de Nata are my absolute favorite pastries in the whole world (closely followed by Apple Strudel)! :) I’m not Portuguese but I grew up eating these pastries at our local Chinese bakery in Peru! In fact, I always identified this type of pastry with China and not Portugal. But I, later on, learned that these egg tarts were introduced in China by Portugal. Chinese food is extremely popular in Peru (where we call them “Chifas”), but Chifas didn’t sell pastries. For that, you had to go to a Chinese bakery! Unfortunately, I can’t remember what they were called in Spanish (you would just point them with your finger at the counter and you would get them!). Another Chinese pastry that I loved was the “bow ties” or “corbatas” which were really yummy but sticky because they were glazed with some kind of dense syrup. When I moved to the States I learned that Pastéis de Nata were originally from Portugal and, lucky for me back then, there was a Portuguese grocery store close to my apartment…so I indulged in them as much as I could! One of the reasons I bought your cooking book was because of the recipe for the Pastéis de Nata. I need to bake them again! :)
Wonderful, Susy. Thank you!! And enjoy them treats.
Thank you for an authentic recipe for Pasteis de Natas that doesn’t use phyllo dough!
You’re welcome, Maria.
I’m very excited to make the recipe, I’m in the process or re-reading and unstanding the recipe.
My one question is about the butter, this is the first time I have seen a pastry using room temperature stirred butter, could you tell me what this process is called?
To me it almost seems like phyllo or filo dough with butter spread!
Ogi, there’s really no name for using room temp butter. This is a take on French puff pastry, which uses a cold block of butter.
Do you know of other recipes that use this method.
I have worked with all kinds of pastry dough but always using cold butter or pliable, I have never used temperature room stirred butter that you spread onto the dough! I am still having a hard time visualizing the process, do you have a video?
I am just very intrigued, do pasteis de nata recipes (including the dough of course) use this method?
Ogi, it’s the ONLY recipe I know that uses it. I don’t have a video. (I know, I know, I keep promising). Imagine spreading soft butter on white bread. I use a small offset spatula and carefully spread the butter over the thinly rolled pastry dough.
Total success on the first try – 500 degree convection oven, one half the recipe worked perfectly, the pastry was flawless, beautiful golden custard with brown spots too. The Belem custard tarts are a tad better but these will keep us happy much closer to home.
Willis, I couldn’t be happier! Thanks.
Do you have this recipe in grams instead of cups? I measure everything and would love to know the measurements in weight thank you!
Ogi, we’ve added the metric equivalents to the recipe and we retested it using these amounts and it worked perfectly. So you can make the recipe, using the metric amounts, with confidence.
Thank you so much for this recipe! My husband lived in Portugal for 2 years and craves the food! I made these for his birthday and he was in heaven. Thank you for the detailed instructions that made making them so easy! I will be making them again (probably for his birthday every year!)
Andrea, you are so welcome!
Can these tart be frozen raw? And then cooked at a later stage?
Nadine, alas no. I have seen some people who freeze them after they’re baked, but I can’t imagine they are any good. Even the famous pastéis from Portugal are just meh the day after baking. These are best made and eaten the sam day.
Hi, David. Just to say that I made the Portuguese tart recipe recently, and it was a hit. It was the strangest dough I have ever worked with, and I was quite skeptical it would turn out but it was really light and crispy–so amazing. It was quite sticky and I think I’ll give it another try at some point as I’d make a few adjustments in my technique. Making a custard with sugar syrup was also new to me and could not believe the custard was able to set in the 9 minute baking time. I’m glad I stuck with it. I baked them in a standard 12 cup muffin tin and was able to make about 26 tarts overall.
TG, your tarts look amazing! The dough is different, I agree. I’m continually trying to perfect this recipe for readers, so I would love to know what changes you made to it. We can compare notes!
After tasting the originals my daughter and son-in-law brought me as they flew home through Portugal, and deciding they were the best thing I’ve ever eaten, I was on a quest to find a recipe I could bake in my Kansas kitchen!! After searching I found this recipe and finally today gave it a try.
Although this first time through I cheated and used refrigerated puff pastry dough, I followed the custard recipe and baking according to how it is written with the exception that my oven would only go to 525 degrees. The thin custard made me nervous, but I trusted the process.
I did bake 12 pastries in regular sized US muffin tins, which seemed a perfect amount to accomplish the crust explained in the recipe. Although a few of mine I must have gotten too thin on the bottom as some filling drained through, I refilled and popped in the hot oven.
After 11 minutes at 525 degrees these beautiful danishes came out of the oven browned beautifully, shiny and even a few browned circles like the original!! After a very short cool, and carefully taking them out of the pans, it was finally time to try them!
With a steaming cup of coffee we all very, very much enjoyed them and my daughter and husband insisted they were better than the originals. I however, enjoyed every bite, but know by cheating with the purchased puff pastry they were not what they should be and could have been close to the first perfect one I tasted if I had made it myself.
Thank you for this fantastic recipe!! Next time I will honor these great, special pastries and follow the recipe all the way through!
Kris, so glad to hear they worked well for you! I love these!
Just made these today. The first bite into my test pastry immediately took me back to Portugal! Since I live at an altitude of 4000 feet, the cooking time varies slightly where I am, but in general following the recipe as written worked pretty well. I had to experiment with rack position and baked in a slightly larger muffin tin at 500°F, although I had some issues getting the bottom to brown due to my inconsistent gas oven temperature. It seems that straight out of the fridge my dough was already the right length and diameter, so after my first batch I decided to skip rolling a bit thinner and went straight to cutting the pieces (1 inch for the larger tin size). This helped maintain the crispy, chewy crust, since I handled the dough less. The custard also can jiggle very slightly when you take it out so that it doesn’t overcook. Thanks for sharing the tasty recipe! My whole family enjoyed the pastries.
Lynn, I’m delighted you enjoyed them so much. And all the way up in the air!
Hi David, I want to make these for a friend’s birthday, but I only have a standard sized muffin tin. In your recipe, you direct to roll the dough to an inch in diameter and 16 inches long, and to cut it into scant 3/4-inch pieces. Do you have any recommendation on dough dimensions and cooking time for a standard muffin sized tin versus the mini muffins?
Cara, it’s been a long time since I made them in a regular-sized tin. But go with 1 1/2 inches. (Your yield will be less, of course.) Then increase the baking time. Some of our readers have found 16 to 17 minutes is best.
Thank you! One more question…I saw you said the dough can be made the day before and refrigerated, do you think the dough would last a few days in the fridge if I had to make it a little more in advance?
Cara, absolutely! I’ve kept it in the fridge for up to a week. The custard can be held the most two or three days.
I see you say you need mini muffin tin with 2 inch by 5/8 inch wells. Can you clarify what that means. I have regular muffin tins that measure 2 5/8 inch’s in diameter. I think mini muffin tins are much much smaller than that. So is what I have correct? I just measured the top of the muffin tin well from one side to the other and it measured 2 5/8 inches wide.
Hello, Dan. Sure. The tins are 2 inches in diameter but only 5/8 inch high. Many readers here have made them in larger tins, and that’s fine. (I often make them in the original individual tins.) Just make sure to cook them a bit longer.
this recipe was amazing.
So delighted you enjoyed it, Sheila.
I finally decided to give these tarts a try since moving to Minnesota and realizing I could not find these here anywhere. I was a bit nervous attempting to make these but this recipe turned out exactly the I had hoped. I had a bit of difficulty of working with the pastry – it stuck to the table quite a bit even quite a bit of flour. I was afraid I wasn’t going get those layers because my folding technique wasn’t all that great, but after baking them I managed to see all those great layers. This recipe was great! I loved it!
Also as a side note for those making it in the reg, sized muffin pans – I kept mine in the oven for 12mins and they came out perfect.
Thanks for the recipe!
Ashely, Brava! These little suckers aren’t easy to make–especially in full-size muffin tins. Thanks for your timing note, too. Do you happen to have a photo, perchance?
Hi there.
So this is the third time I’ve attempted to make Pastel de Nata. My puff pastry is so puffed that they look like big bite custard canapés. The first time I burnt them, the second was a success but didn’t have much of a puff.
It seems like this time it rose for all the attempts. Any ideas why it did so?
Beverlie, sorry, but I had to laugh at your comment. Thank God I have a lot of hair because I pull some out every time I make these.
Just know: This is a finicky recipe. The reason why your puff puffed so much is that you made it EXTREMELY well. It means your layers of dough were well laminated with butter. One thing you can do to prevent this is to prick the dough with a fork or toothpick before adding the filling. It allows steam to escape.
Can’t wait to try this recipe. I’ve tried others in the past, which weren’t so great. Gonna buy the ingredients today and hope it all turns out well, so I can surprise my family. We grew up with these having these as a weekly treat now living here in Florida we cannot get them. Only when we go back home to Massachusetts for vacation we get to enjoy these. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Christina, I hope you and your family like them.
Phenomenal. I love baking and I usually only make recipes that receive 4.5 stars and above on over 1000 reviews. And this recipe makes the cut–simply fantastic. My husband and I have been going to the Italian Centre and we often sit with a hot cup of tea and enjoy one of these. But I thought I’d give this recipe a go at home and it surpasses those in the Italian Centre. Thank you for sharing.
Catherine, THAT’S what I love to hear!! Delighted you enjoyed it so much. Obrigado.
Over the years I have tried various recipes for the Portuguese custard tarts and decided that I’m better off just buying them. Even when they did turn out, they were too time-consuming. When I saw this recipe some time ago, I thought I’d like to give it a try. I was looking for a recipe that I could flavour with juniper berries for a dinner party with venison as the main. These tarts were familiar to my guests, so I thought I’d go for the wow factor and switch up the cinnamon stick for crushed juniper berries. I also used shallow fluted tart tins and ready-made puff pastry that I always keep in the freezer for last minute preparations. The yield on the filling was 8 tarts. I loved that I could keep the filling refrigerated until ready to use as well as the preprepared tart crusts. My oven doesn’t heat above 500°F, so I baked these for 17 minutes. What an amazing velvety, creamy, tasty filling dotted with just the right scorch to identify as inspired by pastéis de nata! Can’t wait to make these again with the cinnamon in the mini tins and serve them to my Portuguese family! Perfect filling recipe for Portuguese custard tarts!
Ilda, wow, what a story! And I love the juniper berry addition. Do you have any photos by chance?
I work at a bakery and constantly see them pumping out Portuguese tarts every day and they’re always so popular. So, when I had some egg yolks left over from a recipe I decided to give this recipe a try. Since I was short on time, I used store-bought puff pastry but applied some butter in between layers as I was rolling it out. When they came out of the oven, the tops were a lovely golden brown and the pastry was golden as well. A few of the bottoms were a little doughy due to me not thinning them out enough and the custard spilled out of a few, but they were delicious. I plan on making them again soon so this time I’ll be sure to thin out my pastry as well as pull the dough all the way up the sides.
Sarah, that’s excellent. May I ask what bakery?
Hi David,
My husband was born in Brazil, and we always buy pasteis de Mata when we visit Newark, NJ. We decided today to try to make our own. We are so impressed with ourselves! Thank you for the great, easy-to-follow recipe. We had no shrinking dough, no boil overs, and no regrets!
Theodora, so delighted you and your husband enjoyed the recipe. And the pastries look amazing!
I made these for Easter and they were a big hit! I had been too intimidated to make these previously but they were actually pretty easy. I used a scale to weigh ingredients and used a mini muffin pan. Per my oven thermometer, my oven got up to 600 degrees and I still didn’t get the burn marks on the custard! So I cheated and used a torch! Our Portuguese family was very happy! Will definitely make these again.
Jana, hurrah! I’m thrilled that you liked them so much and that it worked for you. Yes, I’ll admit: It is a bit of an intimating recipe–but only from a distance. When you get into it, it’s fun and the results are delicious!
As far as not getting a brown top, try this next time: Place a baking stone above and another one below the rack the pastries will be baked on. Let the oven and stones heat up. Give this a good long time, as the stones need extra time to heat up. This creates an intense mini oven that mimics what they have in Belem.
This recipe is great, I have had them in the famous cafe, and while it will never be the same it is very close. Close enough that when ever my Portuguese family are in town I have an obligation to make them. They even purchased some tins for me from Lisbon.
I have made them till now in a traditional oven (full-sized tins) at high altitude 4500 feet at 475°F for 14 minutes and have had mixed results. Even the mistakes are great to eat! :)
Now in a convection oven that cooks at 550°F, the first batch baked for 14 minutes, and the dough was soft and not crispy. I did not thumb this batch, so I can not say if they were as thin as they could have been. The tops got that nice “burn.”
Next batch had thin bottoms and baked at 550°F for 15 minutes. I hope to get this dialed. Thanks for making this recipe public. :)
One line that I remember from the baker in Lisbon is, “The dough must be so thin, like bible paper!” good luck there, ha ha. I get it thin but not that thin.
Barrymore, convection ovens will always do a better job of browning the top. That’s what they have in Lisbon. I didn’t mention that in the recipe, because when I developed it, few people had convection settings. I think I shall add it. And if you have a soggy bottom (or rather your pastéis do), it usually means that dough it too thick. So glad you liked them.
My son and his Portuguese girlfriend stayed this weekend and we made these together – huge success!! The pastry was crisp and flaky, and the cinnamon custard was delicious. I had my doubts whilst making them but they turned out beautifully and were very authentic. Thanks for a great recipe!
Frances, I couldn’t be happier. Estou muito feliz que a namorada do seu filho tenha gostado dos pastéis.
Hello David,
I tried making these beauties, and boy they didn’t disappoint. However, I found them too sweet. The next time I make them, I will reduce the amount of sugar and hopefully achieve the desired results. I took the liberty to share your page with a group on facebook.
Liz, Portgueuse sweets are usually quite sweet. You can cut down on the sugar. Please let me know how much you use and how it turns out!
Wowee what a cracker of a recipe! We have an annual Eurovision party with super foodie people, so the pressure’s always on to make something awesome and this recipe did not disappoint with this year’s theme Portuguese food. Although fairly complicated, the recipe was written very clearly. We cooked in a wood fired oven starting the first batch at 300 degrees (C) and the last batch was at 220. The first batch took 4.5 mins and the last batch 12 mins but they were all awesome. We made 2 1/4 inc (6cm) tarts as we had the extra heat from the wood fired oven. They were received with rave reviews. Thanks!
Sheridan, I’m just delighted by your review. And I’m green with envy over your wood-fired oven.
Hi there
I’m in the UK, can you please put the measurements in grams/ounces? It’s really hard to convert and I’m confused by the recipe.
Hello, Karen. The recipe already contains metric measurements. Right after each ingredient.
Amazing! Pastry is much better using cups not grams. I get 20 with a standard muffin tray. Made 4 times now.
Lee, superb!!