Recipe: Portugal’s Legendary Sweet Treat, Pastel De Nata from Tivoli Hotels & Resorts
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Recipe: Portugal’s legendary sweet treat, Pastel De Nata from Tivoli Hotels & Resorts

From Tivoli Hotels & Resorts and first created by nuns and monks in the Jerónimos Monastery who used egg whites to starch their clothes, keeping the left-over egg yolks to make desserts. This recipe was later sold to the eventual owners of Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém back in 1837 and these dangerously delicious Pastel De Nata’s have been world-famous ever since.

Pastel de nata

Ingredients


Dough:

(or use ready-made puff pastry for ease)

  • 250g flour

  • 100g water

  • Margarine

Filling:

  • 500g milk

  • 75g flour

  • 17g Maizena cornflour

  • 500g sugar

  • 250g water

  • 1 cinnamon stick

  • Rind of ½ lemon

  • 100g egg yolks

  • 50g eggs


Method

Mix the flours with a small amount of milk, boil the remainder of the milk and mix in well

Make a paste with water, sugar and flavouring ingredients and boil for 2 minutes

Mix the paste with the pre-prepared flours and milk. Leave to cool then add in the eggs

Meanwhile, cut the puff pastry sheet into two pieces and place them on top of each other. Tightly roll the sheets into a log, from the short side

Next, cut the log into 12 evenly sized pieces. Place one piece in each of the 12 wells of the muffin tin. Dipping your thumb in cold water first, press your thumb down into the centre of the dough piece and press outwards to form a cup with the pastry. The pastry cup should have its top edge just above the top of the well of the muffin tin

Fill each pastry cup ¾ of the way to the top with custard

Put the tray in the oven and bake until the custard starts to caramelise and the pastry turns golden brown (roughly 10-12 minutes)



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