Tarte de Nata (Portuguese Custard Tart) (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a custard tart and a Portuguese custard tart? ›

British tarts use the less flavoursome shortcrust pastry, which doesn't provide as much textural contrast with the smooth custard. They are also topped with nutmeg, which fails to bring the custard alive as Portugal's cinnamon does. Worse, they are now almost all mass-produced with palm oil-based pastry.

Pastéis de Belém

It's the most famous spot in Lisbon to eat pastéis de nata, and is an absolute must when you visit. Since 1837, locals and tourists alike have been lining up to snag a box of custard tarts to eat in the café or on the go.

The tart's ingredients are very simple: a puff pastry filled with a custard made of cream, egg yolks, sugar, flour, and lemon zest. But that simplicity does not mean all egg tarts are created equal — the competition for the best pastel de nata in Lisbon is fierce, and some bakeries even keep their recipe secret.

Pastel de nata (Portuguese: [pɐʃˈtɛl dɨ ˈnatɐ]; pl. : pastéis de nata; Portuguese: [pɐʃˈtɐjʒ ðɨ-])) is a Portuguese egg custard tart pastry, optionally dusted with cinnamon.

They can be enjoyed warm or cold. If you've made a batch but don't want to eat them all they will freeze well. Just place a few in a tupperware box and freeze for up to 3 months. You probably won't need to though as they will all disappear pretty sharpish!

These tarts are best eaten warm or at room temperature the day they are made. However, they will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

These tarts are best enjoyed warm, rather than hot, and eaten on the day they're made, though they do keep for a day or so (and will benefit from a quick crisp-up in the oven before serving).

Serve warm or at room temperature. Tip: Refrigerate cooled tarts in an air-tight container for up to 2 days (or freeze for up to 1 month and thaw overnight in the refrigerator). Re-heat on a baking sheet in a 350°F (180°C) oven for 5-10 minutes. Tip: Frozen tart shells can also be used in place of puff pastry.

The outside of the art is made from crispy, flaky pastry, whilst the inside is a creamy, custardy mix. Once baked, the tart is caramelised on top and ready to eat. Our advice is to eat them fresh from the oven, or at least the same day you bought them on, dusted in cinnamon or icing sugar.

not polite; offensive or embarrassing. grosseiro, mal-educado, sem educação.

Why are Portuguese pastries yellow? ›

The reason is a piece of Portuguese history: Our guide told us that Portuguese nuns often used egg whites for washing. To not throw away the egg yolks, they used them for baking — and created various recipes based on the yellow leftovers. Pictures were all taken (and pastries all eaten) by the author.

The egg tart (traditional Chinese: 蛋撻; simplified Chinese: 蛋挞; Cantonese Yale: daahn tāat; pinyin: dàntǎ) is a kind of custard tart found in Chinese cuisine, derived from the English custard tart and Portuguese pastel de nata. The dish consists of an outer pastry crust filled with egg custard.

3 Varieties of Custard

There are three main varieties of custard: baked custard, stirred custard, and steamed custard. The first two are both popular in Western cuisine. Baked custard is typically firmer and made with whole eggs, while stirred custards can be much runnier and often only contain the yolks.

The Portuguese egg tart was invented thanks to monks and laundry. With its distinctive caramelized, creme brulee-like topping, pastéis de nata are arguably Portugal's favorite dessert. They were supposedly first made in the 13th century by monks in the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon.

They are the same thing. The diference is that the pastéis de Belém are pastéis de nata produced by the local pastelaria de Belém supposed to be the place owning the original recipe.

Portugal is famed the world over for the Pastel de Nata – crisp, flaky layers of pastry with a delicious, creamy egg-custard filling and a dusting of cinnamon.