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    Portuguese Custard Tarts Made Easy

    Published: Oct 6, 2017 · Modified: Apr 28, 2021 by Jacqueline Bellefontaine ·

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
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    I make no claim to authenticity here but these Portuguese Custard Tarts Made Easy are much easier  to make and taste just as good (well almost) as the real thing. blank

    It's pastry week on The Great British Bake Off and as I like to make a bake each week inspired by the show, this week it has to be Portuguese Custard Tarts (pastéis de nata ) as they are one of my favourite pastries. They were what the contestants had to make for the technical challenge.

     

    I have made them before from scratch,  they were good although if I am honest not as good as the ones I can get locally in a Portuguese bakery. But there is no getting away from it they are fiddly and quite frankly I didn't think I would bother making them again. The end result was that while the homemade tarts tasted good they just didn't taste good enough to warrant the time it takes to make them. That said a while back I saw a recipe in a Delicious Magazine supplement for a full size tart and I had kept it thinking I might give that ago.

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    And that brings me to to this week show. I decided I would make the larger tart and so bought two packets of puff pastry as the recipe suggested but when it came to it,  I had far to much pastry and so decided to make a batch of small ones as well.

     

    The Delicious magazine recipe made the custard the traditional way as the contestants on the show had to do. This involves making a sugar syrup but by now I was dedicated to making these as simple as I could and so that went out the window and instead I choose to make a basic custard using a bit of custard powder enriched with egg yolks, cream and vanilla extract. If you would like to try making it with a sugar syrup try this recipe from Olive Magazine

     

    The end result is small custard tarts that tasted very similar to a traditional Portuguse Custard Tart but mine are so much easier to make. So much so I will definitely be  making  them again. In my view, the slight sacrifice of authenticity is worth making for the time and effort saved. So if you would like to make these delightlful tarts but don't want to spend hours in the kitchen then this recipe is for you.

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    As for the bigger tart – It tasted good but the bigger custard to pastry ratio makes it more suitable as a dessert than to serve with a cup of coffee which is how I like to eat them.   ( I also put mine briefly under the grill to try brown the top.  It didn't really work as the pastry burnt though fine once I trimmed it off. Either leave as it is,  or brown  with a blow torch taking care not to catch the pastry )

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    Individual Portuguese Custard Tarts Made Easy

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    This simplified version of the classic  pastéis de nata - Portuguese custard tart uses bought puff pastry and a simple custard to make these delicious little tarts.
    Course Baking
    Cuisine Portuguese
    Prep Time 30 mins
    Cook Time 20 mins
    Total Time 50 mins
    Servings 12
    Calories 250
    Author Jacqueline Bellefontaine

    Ingredients

    • 320 g ready rolled puff pastry
    • 1 tablespoon custard powder
    • 150 g golden caster sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
    • 3 egg yolks
    • 250 ml full cream milk
    • 75 ml double cream (heavy cream)
    metric - US cups

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 190℃ (170℃ fan)/375°F/gas mark 5. Lightly grease a 12 hole bun or muffin tin.
    • Unroll the pastry and remove the lining sheet, then reroll to form a log of pastry.  Cut into 1.5cm (½in) thick slices.
    • Lay each piece on a lightly floured surface and roll out each round until they are 9cm (3½in) in diameter. Press each round into the prepared tin.
    • Place the custard powder and sugar in a bowl with the vanilla paste and egg yolks.  Add a little milk and whisk to form a smooth paste.
    • Heat the milk with the cream in a saucepan until almost boiling. Gradually whisk the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, then return to the pan.  Heat gently stirring constantly until the custard thickens slightly.
    • Divide the custard equally between the  pastry cases and bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the pastry is crips the custard is set and beginning to brown on the top. Allow to cool and  serve cold

    Nutrition

    Calories: 250kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 83mg | Potassium: 60mg | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 190IU | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 0.8mg
    Tried this recipe?Leave a comment or Mention @recipecrumbs or tag #RecipesMadeEasy
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    Roll the pastry sheet into a log and cut into slices.
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    Roll out each slice and use to line a bun tin.
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    Whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture then return to the heat until thickened.

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    Spoon into pastry cases.
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    Bake

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    Giant Portuguese Custard Tart

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    This giant version of Portuguese Custard Tart is easy to make and makes a delicious dessert. 
    Course Baking
    Cuisine Portuguese
    Prep Time 30 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr 5 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 35 mins
    Servings 12
    Calories 338
    Author Jacqueline Bellefontaine

    Ingredients

    • 320 g ready rolled puff pastry
    • 1 egg, separated
    • 2 tablespoon custard powder
    • 250 g golden caster sugar
    • 2 teaspoon vanilla paste
    • 5 egg yolks
    • 500 ml full cream milk
    • 150 ml double cream heavy cream
    metric - US cups

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 200℃ (180℃ fan)/400°F/gas mark 6. Lightly grease a shallow 
    • Unroll the pastry and remove the lining sheet, then reroll to form a log of pastry. Cut into 1.5cm (½in) thick slices.
    • Lay each piece on a lightly floured surface and roll out each round until they are 9cm (3½in) in diameter. Arrange in the prepared tin so that they overlap slightly and cover the base and sides of the tin. Press the pieces together stretching the pastry slightly if required to make sure there are no gaps between the pieces.
    • Line the pastry case with baking parchment and fill with baking beans.  Bake for 20 minutes then remove the parchment and beans. Lightly beat the egg white and brush the surface of the pastry with egg white. Return to the oven for 5 to 10 minutes until the pastry is just beginning to colour and feels dry.
    •  Meanwhile make the custard. Place the custard powder and sugar in a bowl with the vanilla paste and egg yolks. Add a little milk and whisk to form a smooth paste.
    • Heat the milk with the cream in a saucepan until almost boiling. Gradually whisk the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, then return to the pan. Heat gently stirring constantly until the custard thickens slightly.
    • When the pastry case comes out of the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 180℃ (160℃ fan)/350°F/gas mark 4. Pour the custard into the pastry case and bake for 40 minutes.
    • Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely . Serve cold.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 338kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 105mg | Potassium: 107mg | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 385IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Leave a comment or Mention @recipecrumbs or tag #RecipesMadeEasy

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    About Jacqueline Bellefontaine

    Jacqueline is a member of the Guild of Food Writers and has been a cookery writer and food stylist for over 25 years. She has written over 15 cookery books, in addition to writing for several major magazines. She likes to champion good basic home cooking and as the daughter of a master baker, she is passionate about home baking.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Linda

      May 05, 2018 at 9:36 am

      I thought brilliant - a quick way to use up yolks after making meringues. One snag - I followed the instructions and wondered why there didn't seem to be enough custard to fill the pastry cases. At no point does it tell you when to add the sugar.

      Reply
      • Jacqueline Bellefontaine

        May 05, 2018 at 10:03 am

        Hi Linda,
        Thank you so much for pointing out the error. I am so sorry that it had not been picked up earlier. some times no matter how many time you reread you miss what should be right in front of your eyes. I have corrected the method now to include the missing sugar that goes in with the custard powder. I do hope that you will come back and give it a try. Jacqui

        Reply
    2. Ann Mineo

      November 03, 2017 at 11:31 am

      what is custard power, and can something else be used as substute ?

      Reply
      • Jacqueline Bellefontaine

        November 03, 2017 at 5:04 pm

        Custard powder is a mixture of dried egg yolk, cornflour(starch) and flavourings which is used to most often to make a custard sauce. You could substitute cornflour (starch)(use the same quantity) and some vanilla extract. You may want to add a little yellow colouring too.

        Reply
    3. Helen

      October 09, 2017 at 6:39 pm

      5 stars
      these look so good, and so neat! mine are a little more rustic!

      Reply
      • Jacqueline Bellefontaine

        October 10, 2017 at 10:11 pm

        Thank you Helen. Nothing wrong with rustic!

        Reply
    4. Rebecca Beesley

      October 09, 2017 at 1:00 pm

      I think ready made pastry is the way to go with these - I was put off trying them as i didn't have the time to make the pastry. They look amazing! and must taste super too! x #gbbobloggers2017

      Reply
      • Jacqueline Bellefontaine

        October 09, 2017 at 4:36 pm

        I think you are right I never by shortcrust but nearly always buy puff pastry it just doesnt seem worth the effort of making. I was really happy with how they taste too

        Reply
    5. Angela / Only Crumbs Remain

      October 08, 2017 at 6:09 pm

      Ooh what a brilliant and much easier way to make the custards Jacqui! They take an absolute age to make from scratch don't they - and I wish ours had turned out as well as yours Jacqui, because we absolutely love English Egg Custards but have never tried the Portuguese counterpart (well unless you count the ones which were a bit of a disaster because of a duff recipe!) Pinning.
      Angela x

      Reply
      • Jacqueline Bellefontaine

        October 09, 2017 at 4:46 pm

        Im all for a bit of cheating now and again. They taste diffrent to and English Egg custard personally I like both a lot!

        Reply
    6. jenny paulin

      October 07, 2017 at 10:06 pm

      5 stars
      These do look good Jacqueline. I remember these being made a while ago on GBBO - I was surprised to see them feature again. Actually, maybe it was just egg custard tarts last time. anyway, it is making me think I need to try them for myself.
      Thank you for joining I again with #GBBOBloggers2017 x

      Reply
      • Jacqueline Bellefontaine

        October 09, 2017 at 4:49 pm

        I don't remember them being made before but these days I seem to have a head like a sieve so thats not surprising. Im loving joining in again thanks for hosting

        Reply
    7. Cat

      October 07, 2017 at 4:14 am

      What a great idea. I love these tarts but like you say they are quite fiddly so this recipe looks great x

      Reply
      • Jacqueline Bellefontaine

        October 09, 2017 at 4:51 pm

        Thank you I think it is a good compromise on taste vs effort

        Reply

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    Jacqueline Bellefontaine.

    Hello I'm Jacqui
    I believe that great tasting home cooking need not be hard work, so I like to write and cook recipes that are as easy as they can be. But I won't compromise on taste!

    This blog is written and photographed by me at home and it's all about my favourite recipes, that I make for family, for friends and for fun. I hope you like them too.

    More about me →

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