Pastel de Nata or Portuguese Egg Tarts

Step 1

Form the dough into pastry shells as I mentioned in my post above. Freeze them for some minutes while preparing the custard.

Step 2

In a bowl, whisk together the cream, sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch and milk until well combined and all lumps age gone.

Step 3

Using a double boiler, cook the egg mixture over medium-low heat while stirring continuously until it reaches the correct thickness, like that of a crepe batter. Remove from heat and place pot in a cold water bath to stop it from cooking further.

Step 4

Add the vanilla extract and stir until well mixed. Let it cool down to room temperature.

Step 5

Preheat oven to 250°C.

Step 6

Take the puff pastry shells from the fridge and fill them with the egg mixture leaving about 5-7mm of the top uncovered.

Step 7

Baked them at 250°C for 5 minutes or until the pastry starts to puff. Lower the temperature to 200°C and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the top of the custard gets the burnt spots and the bubbling starts to subside. Rotate your tray several times throughout baking time to get the crust brown evenly.

Step 8

Remove from oven and place on the cooling rack. Portuguese Egg tarts are best eaten while still warm.