Portuguese egg tarts, also known as pastel de nata, are a beloved dessert worldwide. Originating in Portugal, these egg tarts have become popular in many countries and cultures due to their unique flavour and texture.
Brief History and Origin
The Portuguese egg tart originated in the 18th century when Catholic monks created it at the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon. To make this delicious pastry, the monks used leftover egg whites from making communion wafers. As time passed, these tarts became more popular throughout Portugal and eventually spread to other European countries such as France, Germany, Italy and Spain before becoming a global favourite today.
Portuguese Egg Tart – The Recipe
- Preparation Time: 1 hr
- Cooking Time: 25 mins
- Total time: 1 hr 25 mins
- Servings: 12 tarts
Ingredients
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- 115g white sugar
- 2 tbsp. cornflour
- 400ml full-fat (creamy) milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 sheet puff pastry, ready rolled
Instructions
- Prepare the oven and preheat it to 180 degrees C. Also, prepare a 12-cup muffin tin by lightly greasing it with butter.
- In a pan, add cornflour, sugar, egg and egg yolks, mix well, then slowly pour in the milk until consistent and smooth.
- Place the pan over medium heat and stir to cook until the mixture becomes thick. When the mixture is about to boil, remove from heat and add vanilla. Transfer the custard to a glass bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap and leave to cool.
- Place the pastry sheet on the work surface, cut it into pieces and stack them over each other. Starting from the short side, roll the pastry firmly into a log shape, then cut it into 12 equal-sized rounds.
- Place the pastry piece on the flour-dusted work surface and roll it into a 10cm diameter disc using a rolling pin. Repeat the process with all the pieces and arrange them in the muffin tin cups; press gently to fix them.
- Add a spoonful of cool custard and place in the oven; bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top colour turns golden. Take out of the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes, then remove from cups and place on the wire rack until completely cooled. Serve and enjoy!
Popular variations
Here are a few ways you can change this basic recipe to adjust it to your liking:
- Matcha Portuguese Egg Tarts: The matcha egg tarts are just beautiful. The sweet egg filling flavoured with matcha is so divine, and enclosed in a flaky buttery crust makes it even more special.
- Raspberry Portuguese tarts: These tarts have raspberries in them. The bursting juiciness and sweetness in the buttery crust balance the entire tart beautifully in taste and texture.
- Portuguese Nutella custard tarts: These Portuguese egg tart-inspired tarts are made with Nutella filling. We love how the Nutella brings out the deep chocolaty flavour in the sweet-tart.
- Glazed Summer Berry Custard Tarts: Inspired by Portuguese egg and custard tart, these fresh tarts are easy to make, especially with the berries of choice. You have to fill them with homemade custard and dress them with berries.
- Blueberry and lemon custard tart: This tart has all the sweetness from the custard, freshness from the blueberries and tartness from the lemon. We love these tarts’ freshness and lightness, especially for the summer season.
