The Most Delicious Pasteis de Nata – Portuguese Custard Tarts

By foodiva

Ingredients

• 1 /2 lemon rind
• Preparation
• butter for greasing
• Custard
• 500 ml milk1/2 lemon rind1 cinnamon stick1 vanilla bean70 g all-purpose flour6 egg yolks large
• Sugar syrup
• 200 ml water450 g sugar
• Other
• 650 g puff pastry roughly 2 packetsconfectioner's sugar for dustingcinnamon ground. For dusting

Details

Adapted from cakieshq.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preparation

Take 2 mini muffin tins and grease the holes thoroughly with butter. Put the tins in the fridge to chill.

Custard

In a pan heat up milk with the peel of half a lemon, vanilla bean and cinnamon stick, Heat to simmer and strain to remove the lemon peel, vanilla bean and cinnamon stick.

In a separate small bowl, pour a little under half of the milk with the flour and mix thoroughly till combined.

Pour the remaining milk into a pan and bring to a boil, Take off the heat and, while stirring constantly, pour in the milk and flour mixture. Mix until thick. Set aside.

In a small saucepan bring sugar, peel of half a lemon, a cinnamon stick and water to a boil. Boil for about 5 minutes until the syrup reaches 108 ºC / 226 ºF. Use a thermometer to check. If you don't have a thermometer, use a spoon to spoon out a little bit of the syrup and put it onto a plate, leave to cool for a few minutes. Beware sugar syrup is very hot!! Once cooled put some of the syrup between your thumb and index finger and if you see little threads of syrup in between it means the syrup is done. Remove the lemon peel and the cinnamon stick.

While stirring constantly, pour the syrup into the milk mixture. Don't worry if the mixture seems a little lumpy.

While still stirring, add in the egg yolks and mix until combined.

Strain the custard and cover with clingfilm lightly touching the custard. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 175 ºC / 350 ºF.

Take your pastry and cut out circles. Take the circle and carefully press the pasrty onto the bottom and the sides of the cup. The sides should be long enough to just reach over the edge.

Pour the custard into the pastry cup, filling about 3/4 of the cup. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Let the pasteis cool in the tin for a few minutes. Once cooled slightly remove them from the tin and put onto a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar, followed by cinnamon and serve. The pasteis taste the best on the day that they're made.