Pastéis de nata: a delicacy from Portugal
It is impossible to talk about Portuguese cuisine without mentioning the traditional pastéis de nata, these small pastry flans that delight the taste buds as a dessert or snack.
Ah, Portugal. Its sun, its breathtaking landscapes, its Porto and... its pastéis de nata. These small pastry flans are an essential part of Portuguese cuisine. Small melting and tasty delicacy, the pastel de nata (in singular) has today exceeded the borders of the country to invite itself on the tables of the whole world. If you don't have a Portuguese restaurant or pastry shop near you, here is the recipe to make delicious pastéis de nata at home.
The right recipe for pastéis de nata
At first glance, it is rather appetizing. When tasted, it is both melting and crunchy. How to resist pastéis de nata? And as at BienManger.com, we like to cook, we called upon Sandra, native of Portugal and very good pastry cook in her spare time. She gave us her recipe (for 10 to 12 people depending on the size of the molds) and we thank her for it!
Ingredients
- 0,5l milk
- 225g powdered sugar
- 35g flour type 45 or 55
- 4 egg yolks and one whole egg
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 vanilla bean
- 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1 puff pastry (purchased or homemade)
Steps of the recipe
- Preheat the oven to 210°C ( thermostat 7).
- In a bowl, mix flour, sugar and salt.
- In a saucepan, pour the milk and the vanilla bean cut in half. Heat everything over low heat.
- When the milk comes to a boil, turn off the heat. Remove and scrape the vanilla bean to extract the pulp in the milk.
- Pour the liquid over the mixture in the bowl while stirring.
- Add the 4 egg yolks, the whole egg and the tablespoons of lemon.
- Mix vigorously with a whisk.
- Roll out the puff pastry and form small circles the size of your molds.
- Divide the circles in the moulds and pour the mixture to fill the bottoms of the pastry to 3/4.
- Let cook for about ten minutes.
Which molds to use?
There are molds for pastéis de nata. But if you don't have one, you can use small flared molds like muffin tins or tart pans.
Our tasting advice
The pastéis de nata can be eaten cold or warm. At BienManger.com, we like them warm and sprinkled with a little powdered sugar. Lovers can also sprinkle them with a little cinnamon before tasting.
