Pastéis de Nata
Our next Food & History recipe comes from Portugal! Since I am at least half Portuguese, I’m very excited to share one of the most delicious Portuguese recipes I could think of: Pastéis de Nata.
The origin of this delicious treat goes back before the 18th century where they were created by monks at the Jerónimos Monastery in the parish of Santa Maria de Belém in Lisbon. At this time, monasteries and convents used large quantities of egg whites for starching clothes, so there was an excess of the egg yolks. They used the yolks to make various cakes and pastries, including pastéis de nata. Monks started selling them at a nearby sugar refinery to bring in revenue, and they later sold the recipe to them when the monastery closed in 1834. The Pastel de Nata was famed for its flaky pastry layers, creamy egg custard and dusting of cinnamon; so famous, it’s still that way today!
Today, that same sugar refinery, Pastéis de Belém, produces over 20,000 of these little tarts per day. PER DAY! I had a hard enough time making a dozen of these, never mind 20,000. For fellow Great British Baking Show fans, it was also featured as a technical challenge for Pastry Week on episode 6 of season 8. In the episode, one of the hosts also traveled to Lisbon to Pastéis de Belém to see how these babies are made. The speed and accuracy with which they were filling the pastry tins is incredible, but what is really incredible is that the recipe really hasn’t changed since it was received from the monastery. And what is there to change, really? I dare you to only have one of these if you ever have the opportunity (spoiler alert, you’ll want more than one).
I have tried to make these once before a few years ago, and I remembered it being hard, as any technical challenge should be. Pastry dough is still something I haven’t done a lot of, but I think it came out better this time around. I have also found a few recipes that include lemon in the custard. I didn’t use it this time, but when I try these again, I would definitely experiment with that. What got me this time was the timing. I used a mini muffin pan because I thought that might be easier, but I think I would go back to the regular-sized pan next time. I was also caught up with going by how the pastry looked in terms of color. That proved to be somewhat of a mistake, as they came out a tad overdone. But, they were still so good and the custard came out better than the last time I made it, so I call that a win.
If you find yourself in Portugal or just near a Portuguese bakery, I sincerely hope you give yourself the pleasure of indulging in a Pastel de Nata…or three. You won’t regret it!
-S
Ingredients:
For the dough:
2 cups minus 2 tbs of all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tbs cold water
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, stirred until smooth
For the custard:
3 tbs all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup milk, divided
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2/3 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla
6 large egg yolks, whisked
Method:
In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the flour, salt, and water until a soft, pillowy dough forms that pulls away from the side of the bowl.
Generously flour your work surface and pat the dough into a 6 inch square using a pastry scraper. Flour the dough and cover with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Roll the dough into an 18 inch square. As you work, use the scraper to lift the dough so the underside doesn’t stick.
Brush off the excess flour of the top, then spread the left 2/3 portion of the dough with 1/3 of the butter, leaving a 1 inch plain border around the edge of the dough.
Neatly fold the unbuttered right 1/3 of the dough over the rest of the dough. Brush off any excess flour, then fold over the left 1/3 of the dough. Starting from the top, pat down the dough to release any air bubbles.
Turn the dough 90° to the left so the fold is facing you. Once again roll it out to an 18inch square, then spread the left 2/3 with 1/3 of the butter. Fold the dough as directed in previous steps.
For the last rolling, turn the dough 90° to the left and roll out the dough to an 18 by 21 inch rectangle with the shorter side facing you. Spread the remaining butter over the surface of the dough.
Using a spatula as an aid, lift the edge of the dough closest to you and roll it into a tight log, brushing the excess four from the underside as you go. Wrap each piece in plastic and chill for 2 hours or overnight.
For the custard, whisk the flour and 1/4 cup of milk until smooth.
Bring sugar, cinnamon, and water to a boil in a small saucepan and cook until an instant thermometer reads 220°. Do not stir.
Meanwhile in a small saucepan, scald the remaining 1 cup milk. Whisk the hot milk into the flour mixture.
Remove the cinnamon stick and then pour the sugar syrup in a thin stream into the hot milk/flour mixture, whisking briskly. Add the vanilla and stir until very warm. Whisk in the yolks, strain the mixture into a bowl and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 500°. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it back and forth until it’s about an inch in diameter and 16 inches long. Cut into 3/4 inch pieces. Place 1 piece, cut side down in each well of a nonstick mini muffin tin.
Push your thumb straight down the middle of the dough spiral. Flatten it against the bottom of the well, then smooth the dough up the sides and create a raised lip about 1/8 inch above the pan. The pastry bottoms should be thinner than the tops.
Fill each cup 3/4 full with the cool custard. Bake then pastries until the edges of the dough are frilled and brown, 8-9 minutes. (time in the oven depends what size pan you’re using. Best to keep a close eye on things!)
Remove from the oven and allow pasteis to cool a few minutes in the pan, then transfer to a rack to finish cooling. Sprinkle with cinnamon and powdered sugar and serve.
