Portuguese Egg Tarts (Pastel de Nata)

• servings: 18 small tarts

Ingredients

1 box of puff pastry sheets, defrosted and pliable (490 g / 1.1 lbs total)

1 cup sugar

1 cup + 6 tbsp milk, divided

⅔ cup water

6 egg yolks

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ tsp cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500 F. In a small pot, combine the sugar, water, and cinnamon over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, then remove the syrup from the heat and set aside.

Cut each sheet of puff pastry into 9 squares of equal size. Grease the muffin pan and use the molds to shape the squares into their tart shapes.

In a small pot, heat 1 cup + 1 tbsp of the milk over medium heat until bubbles begin to form around the edges, around 4-5 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the remaining 5 tbsp of milk. Continue to whisk while adding in the 1 cup + 1 tbsp of hot milk. Whisk in the syrup mixture we made first. Pour the mixture back into a small pot and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until thickened after 10-12 minutes.

Add the yolks into the mixture after it is taken off the heat and allow to sit briefly to cool down. Whisk briskly until well combined, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve.

Pour around 1½ tbsp of the custard mixture into each pastry shell. Be sure not to overfill, or the shell may overflow in the oven.

Bake the tarts until the shells are golden brown and crisp, the custards are set, and the tops are blackened. 15-20 minutes. Depending on your oven, you may need to use the broiler for the final blackening step. Serve at room temperature with a light dusting of any spices of your choice.

Notes

A rich egg custard enveloped in a flaky puff pastry shell. The light cinnamon flavor really shines through in these tarts. Originally created by monastery monks, these egg tarts have a balanced sweetness and pleasant caramelized top.

Using a blowtorch to caramelize some sugar on top would not be a bad idea.