Pastel de Nata Portugese Custard Tart

Pastel de Nata (Plural: Pastéis de Nata) also called Pastel de Belém is a heavenly delicious Portugese Custard Tart. Most likely the Pastel de Nata tarts has been invented by the monks of Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jerónimos Monastery) in Lisbon, Portugal.

The tarts consist of puff pastry with an egg custard filling and as we used ready-made, deep-fozen puff pastry molds it was quite simple to achieve this recipe. Pastel de Nata is best served warm, but be careful, the custard tarts are very hot inside. As a while ago the American fastfood chain KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) introduced this sweet snacks to Thailand, they became very popular in our tropical home country. On Valentines Day 2012 KFC offered a special edition of Pastel de Nata, with a raspberry filling and a raspberry heart on top. Finally there is an ample scope for Your creativity to refine this already very delicious tarts with a filling or a topping. If You can´t get ready made puff pastry molds, use puff pastry and fit it in muffin molds.

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Image: Pastel de Nata, Portugese Custard Tart

Recipe: Pastel de Nata, Portugese Custard Tart
Ingredients for 18 Pastéis de Nata
18 ready-made puff pastry molds
or puff pastry
500 ml heavy cream
200 g sugar
50 g vanilla sugar
2 heaped tablespoons corn starch
1 pinch salt
1 egg
5 egg yolks
lime-, lemon- or orange rind

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Combine sugar, vanilla sugar,corn starch and salt. Heat heavy cream in a pot and stir in the sugar-starch mixture. Let the mixture cool down. Beat the egg and the egg yolks and mix it with the cream mix. Fill the mixture in deep frozen puff pastry molds and bake them for about an hour. Let the Pastel de Nata tarts cool down a bit, as they are devilish hot inside and serve them best warm.