Custard tarts
This is our recipe for Pastéis de Nata, the famous Portuguese Custard tarts. We use homemade puff pastry to make these delicious tarts, they make a much more complicated pastry
SERVES
24
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
20
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
30
MINUTES
Ingredients
1 large egg
2 egg yolks
115g (4oz) golden caster sugar
2 tablespoons cornflour
400ml (14fl oz) whole milk
zest from 1 lemon or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
900g (2lb) puff pastry
Method
Lightly grease 2 x 12 muffin tins.
Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/Gas Mark 8.
Put the egg, yolks, sugar and cornflour in a saucepan and whisk, gradually add the milk and lemon zest if using and whisk until smooth.
Cook on a medium heat and stirring constantly with a whisk until the mixture thickens and comes to the boil, continue to cook for 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, stir in the vanilla extract if using.
Transfer to a Pyrex bowl, allow to cool. Cover with parchment paper to prevent a skin from forming — prick here and there to allow steam to escape.
Roll the chilled puff pastry into a 3mm (1/8 inch) thick sheet, stamp out 7.5cm (3 inch) discs. Press into the muffin tins.
Spoon a generous dessertspoon of the cool custard into each pastry case. Bake in the preheated oven for 16-20 minutes or golden on top. Allow to cool in the tins for 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack. Sprinkle with a little freshly ground cinnamon. Eat warm or at room temperature.
