Pastéis de nata, simple and super tasty Portuguese mini cakes

Nowadays you don't have to go to Portugal for them anymore, you see them here more and more often: Pastéis de nata. A few years ago I came across this delicious recipe and I would like to share it with you again. Because with this sweet little pastry you secretly extend the summer a little longer. Pastéis de nata - loosely translated: cream clouds (one reason to get started).

The iconic Portuguese cake originates from Belém , the port on the Tagus. Nowadays, you can get the tastiest version of this sweet treat at the famous bakery 'Pastéis de Belém' (est. 1837), a suburb of Lisbon. Day in, day out, there is a huge queue for a takeaway box or a table in the hectic tangle of rooms and rooms of the associated coffee house.

Why are the cakes so ridiculously delicious?

Perhaps the contrast between the crispy puff pastry and the creamy, sweet filling does the trick. The pleasantly small size ensures a high snack factor. In Portugal, you always get a bag of sugar with cinnamon to sprinkle over it. That is not very convenient to eat, but it is tasty.

There are many different recipes in circulation, but this seemed to be the most authentic recipe that I found, among other things, in Trouw by Karin van Luiten (who, by the way, has a great website full of recipes). The cakes are not difficult to make, I can share from my own experience, and perhaps that is why they are an extra fun project for the weekend.

Ingredients

Number of cakes: 8 pieces
Kcal: definitely a lot
You will need: muffin/cupcake tin

• 4 to 6 slices of puff pastry (frozen)
• 8 egg yolks
• 300 ml whole milk
• 200 g granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla pod
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• pinch of cinnamon
• butter & flour for greasing
• powdered sugar and cinnamon for the finishing touch (optional)

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 220 ˚C
2. Grease 8 holes of the muffin tin with butter and dust with some flour
3. Let the puff pastry sheets thaw and roll them out a little thinner. Theoretically, you can efficiently cut 8 circles from 4 sheets, but use a little more dough if that doesn't work. You should have enough to cover the bottom and the raised edges
4. Prick holes in the bottom with a fork to prevent rising. Put the form in the refrigerator
5. Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the marrow
6. Place the stick and marrow in a pan with milk, sugar and cornflour, heat until boiling and let it simmer very gently for 10 minutes
7. Remove the vanilla pod. Beat the beaten egg yolks with a whisk and let it thicken slowly on low heat while stirring regularly but do not boil, then it will be scrambled eggs. Pour the filling into the molds. Sprinkle with some cinnamon
8. Place the tarts in the oven for ± 20 minutes until they are cooked and crispy, with dark spots on the filling
9. Sprinkle with some icing sugar before serving (optional)

Keep the pasties outside the refrigerator, preferably eat them the same day. Preferably straight from the oven, then they are the most delicious!

And, are you going to make them too?

The author: Mariko Naber

Branding expert and online entrepreneur Mariko is the happy brain behind Happlify. Together with partner Mark she runs Happlify, Sell your stuff online and branding agency Loaded ink BNO . She loves feel good, random acts of kindness, meatballs, chocolate mousse, family time, sea, piña colada, sugar & spice and everything nice.