Portugese Egg Tarts (Pastel de Nata)
Egg tarts are Portuguese pastries that are popular all over the world. They are made with a sweet crust and filled with rich egg custard. While they can be eaten at any time of day, they are often served as a dessert. If you're looking for an easy and delicious pastry to make, egg tarts are the perfect choice!
Ingredients
Let's gather the ingredients!
- 2 sheets Puff Pastry
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 strip lemon zest
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk plus 5 tablespoons, divided
- 6 egg yolks
- cinnamon ground
Instructions
Let's Begin!
- First, Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Crust
- On a lightly floured surface, lay down the puff pastry and roll it into a log. cut the log into ½-inch slices.
- Place each slice into the cavity of an egg tart mold or muffin tin, with the cut side of the spiral facing up. Use your thumb to press the dough and evenly flatten it against the sides of the mold. Repeat with the remaining dough. Refrigerate until firm.
Egg Custard Filling
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water, lemon zest, and cinnamon stick over high heat. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat, and let sit until ready to use.
- In a separate saucepan, heat 1 cup of milk over medium heat until bubbles begin to form around the edges.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour with 5 tablespoons of milk. Continue whisking while adding the hot milk in a slow stream. (discard the lemon zest and cinnamon stick)
- Whisk the syrup into the milk mixture in a steady stream. Return to the saucepan and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until thickened.
- Add the yolks to the mixture and whisk until well combined, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Pour 1 ½ tablespoons of the warm filling into each pastry shell.
- Bake until the shells are golden brown and crisp, the custards are set, and the tops are blackened in spots. Let cool in the pans on wire racks for 5 minutes. Then, remove the molds, transfer the tarts to the wire racks and sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Serve warm and enjoy with family and friends!