Which is a good thing, since they do require a bit of effort to produce. The recipe itself is simple, using just a few basic ingredients, but there are numerous steps, and a certain amount of finesse is required, but the results are so worth it. After watching a few dozen videos on the technique, I decided to try the short cut version first, which uses frozen store-bought puff pastry. The results were not good. Since puff pastry is leavened with yeast, and contains so many more layers of butter and dough, my crust turned out too thick, and gummy, and wasn’t nearly as thin and crispy as it should’ve been. It may have been my technique, but officially I’m blaming the dough.
As far as the custard goes, it’s a relatively simple
procedure, and we even streamlined one of the steps. You’ll have to decide
whether you’re going to include lemon, cinnamon, and vanilla, which are
apparently considered optional ingredients in Portugal, but I really enjoy the
flavor, and wouldn’t change a thing. Regardless of what you decide to add, or
not add to yours, like I said in the video, these should be on everyone’s baking
bucket list. So, I really do hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!
For the dough:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup cold water
Note: adjust with more flour or water to achieve what’s
shown in the video
1 stick (4 ounces) very soft, high-quality unsalted butter
For the sugar syrup:
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
1 cinnamon stick (or 1/4 teaspoon ground)
zest from 1 lemon
For the custard base:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups milk
6 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Bake tarts at 550 F. for 12 minutes or until the pastry is
browned and bubbly, and the tops start to blister and caramelize.
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64 comments:
These look amazing! I can't wait to try my hand at this recipe. I know you said that the cinnamon stick and lemon zest are optional, but would you say that cinnamon powder and/or a few drops of lemon juice would make poor substitutes?
Wow, this looks amazing! I can't wait to try my hand at this recipe. I know you said that the cinnamon stick and lemon zest are optional, but would cinnamon powder and/or a few drops of lemon juice make poor substitutes? Thanks :)
Chef John - any tips for getting stick butter that soft and spreadable? Thx!
I want to try this for Thanksgiving I might even blog it thank you for your recipe videos
I usually buy these dellicatesens from a famous bakery in Toronto. I have been looking for an authentic recipe to try at home, but I couldn't find one with the crust made from scratch. Yours look amazing. Can't wait to give it a try. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you, Chef John, for yet another beautiful recipe.
As someone who is scared of doughs, do you think I could use puff pastry, par-bake it after docking the bottom with a toothpick before pouring in the custard? Maybe puff pastry and do the butter spread only once?
I can't wait to make this. Being a native of the south coast of MA, Portuguese food was a huge enjoyable part of my youth. I'd love to see you try a Cacoila, Favas w/ linguica & chourico, Papa secos, or Malasada. Always love your videos.. thanks.
My food wish, how about making a japanese omelette (tamigoyaki)
I have been wanting to make these for awhile thank you I will make these this weekend
It is excellent john
Can we substitue the sugar with stevia or Xyloto
And work with free Gluten flour
Bascily i want to convert this recipe to a low Carb pastry if i can
Can you give us some tip!
Can we convert this recipe to a low carb revipe 😊
Thank you very much
Please make Yetsom Beyaynetu. I tried to make Injera many times but it never goes right. I would love to see how you would do it.
Chef John, these look awesome! Do you have any ideas for what else you might be able to use the pastry cups for?
Ok, I made these today. The custard is to die for, the crust is a little bit chewy , crispy but chewy. I followed the instructions to the tee. The smoke alarm went off , there was butter oozing and spilling . I had custard leftover, enough for one more tart.
You're the best Chef John!
I'll never forget the first time I ate a real Pasteis de Nata in Macau. I often find substandard tarts here in SF, yet none look as delicious as what you presented. That said, can you specify the size of muffin pan you used? I have pans that appear both larger and smaller than what I am able to estimate from your video. It seems critical given you divide your dough into 12 pieces. Thanks!
Holy cow Chef John. I made these yesterday only a couple of hours after your video was put up, and I have to say they were absolutely amazing. All 12 were gone in just a couple of hours, and they tasted incredible. I didn't have any lemon so I used orange peel, cinnamon and vanilla, and they were delicious. And that crust. They were super crispy and crunchy and I was pretty pleased for my first time making any sort of laminated pastry.
These look so good!
Hi Chef John, yet again another awesome recipe! I tried making the pastry today but have some trouble with laminating the dough. For some reason, butter just kept on spilling out as I was rolling it. Do you have any advice on this? Fyi, I live in a tropical country so it gets hot in the kitchen... Maybe is it because I was placing on too much butter? Or was the dough too dry?
Thank you!
We haven’t tried this recipe yet but wanted to say we love your videos and sense of humor. And we just picked up a couple freakishly small wooden spoons today so now we can make official Chef John food!
Just tried it. It's very similar to egg tart in Hong Kong and it's curing my homesickness. Awesome recipe Chef John!
A W E S O M E
Am I the first commentor?
Grew up in china I ate so many of the Asian version of this tart! Can’t wait to try making them myself.
Good
Hi Chef Jobn,
I am always a big admirer of yours. I have followed your recipe and it turned out superb. Recently I was in an African Portuguese speaking country Angola, where I have to buy these pastries but now after watching this video I can make my own. Thanks for sharing this. Live healthy, live long. Have a great day and as always... enjoyyyyy :-)
Hey chef. I am making these for a dinner party tomorrow. I will let you know how they turn out!
Chef,
Would you please make a steamed pudding? I'm curious about them after watching an unnamed British baking show. Perhaps a Christmas pudding or a Bakewell? Or freestyle it.
Btw thanks for introducing us to Detroit style pizza. I had never heard of it before.
Could this style of crust be used for tarts with other fillings? Something like a Canadian butter tart filling.
Ooooh they turned out perfect. Thank you for these videos. I feel like a pro.
I've been craving these bad boys ever since a trip to Lisbon a few years back. Making the dough tonight and will report back tomorrow with results. Thanks for another awesome recipe Chef John!
I made these tarts for dessert last night, following the recipe exactly as shown. And I have to say, these tarts were very possibly THE most delicious sweet things ever to come out of my oven! It isn't often that I'll follow a recipe for the first time and have it come out exactly as described, but that is exactly what happened here! I feel like a baking superhero :D
My Pasteis de Nata turned out wonderfully. Thanks to Chef John for the video (and to the spirit of my Great Uncle Frankie, a Master Pastry Chef). Paul Matthew St. Pierre
So these look fantastic: can they be stored and then gently reheated before serving? They might go soggy if not served immediately, but I'm not sure I could co-ordinate preparation and devour(ation) to the precision that would maximise crispiness!!!
So these look fantastic: can they be stored and then gently reheated before serving? They might go soggy if not served immediately, but I'm not sure I could co-ordinate preparation and devour(ation) to the precision that would maximise crispiness!!!
ah! Finally!
Wowza, looks delicious! This is on my list of techniques to perfect (the dough) and these are right up my alley flavor-wise. Thanks as always, Chef!
Thanks for this superb video. They were awesomely delicious. We had to wrest with the pan and dough. They stayed crispy till the next day too. It was fun to make. You are the best !
Well you didn't explain how you have to fold the dough that is extremely important.
I love those. With lots of cinnamon.
Pastel de Belem so se fores a Belem, pastel de nata em todo Portugal.
Hi! Im dying to try this recipe but it doesnt say if you've greased the muffin tin before hand. It looks like you did, what would be the best thing to use?
Chef John,
You're right . . . not only was this recipe extremely simple to follow but the tarts are mind-blowingly delicious! Thank you, THANK YOU!
question...should it not be 2/3 cup of water..since 1/3 cup will be 30% water and sticky dough should be around 75% water?
Hi Chef John. Thanks for all your great work!
A little fyi: puff pastry does not contain yeast, so if the store bought stuff you experimented with did, it was not real puff pastry. I'm a recovering pastry chef who used to make puff pastry, croissant and danish doughs, about 500 hundred pounds of each per week. If you use regular puff pastry and roll it thin enough, it works in this recipe. Basically the dough you made is a version of puff pastry.
Grew up eating Pasteis de Nata. They are inexplicably addictive.
How many tarts does this recipe make?
Hi Chef John,
Love you, your voice and recipes.
Just made the dough for the Portuguese Custard Tarts. It was a little challenging but I did it. The proof will be in the finished product. I was wondering if you could give me some parameters that I think might help me with the actual size of the dough. Could you give me an estimate of how big the square is suppose to be after rolling out? I know you give the recommended thickness but that is difficult for me to judge correctly and a dimension would be more helpful. This is part of my heritage so it is important for me to get them right.
I am so looking forward to tasting these when finished. Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes and videos. You are a wonderful teacher.
Dear Chef John, will you please teach us how to make candy like Aplets and Cotlets? It's my favorite candy and it's very expensive. Maybe you can crack the secret code of Liberty Orchards. Thanks
Dear John. I thought your You tube video was brilliant so this morning I've made the pastry and later I'm going to finish the job. I can't wait and I'll post the results. Thanks
I made this recipe and it was really good everyone liked it and sure will make it again.
Thank you :)
I would make these to plomb up the days of my nearest friends, and , it will be loved! Thanks for the recipe and videos!
Here in Portugal we use puff pastry.
Another recipe,
https://youtu.be/n529ZWCjYpI
Recipes are nice but what I am really learning here is math. I can convert these weird "cup" measurements in grams in my head now.
After applying my butter for the first time I made the folds and when I went to roll out the dough it was very tough (ie. didn't want to be rolled out) and not only that, my butter was being squeezed out the other ends! I kept working with it but my version did not look like the video. I'm not sure what I might be doing wrong. I completed all the steps as best I could with my uncooperative dough and put the plastic-wrapped dough in the fridge to work with tomorrow for the final product. Here's to hoping they turn out in the end!
to prevent butter spilling, during roll out dough,
-butter should be just like spreadable, not like nutella
-between each step (butter spreading on dough) put both butter and dough in to refrigerator for 10 min.
hope it helps
I made these. They were wonderful. Crunchy and creamy. The pastry was exactly as the video shows. Takes a little bit of time but not complex to manage but so worth it in taste and texture! Pressing the dough into the muffin cups is a lot easier with short nails, just passing that along!
Val Bartlett UK
Just tried your recipe and it’s fabuloue. As you said puff pastry is useless...much too thick and not crisp.
How much longer (time) should you bake these tarts if the highest oven temperature only reaches 450°F?
Chef John, These were on my bucket list and your instructions and tips were very easy to follow! My egg tart loving 5 year old son, said I was a fancy cook after making these for him as egg tarts/pasteis de nata are his favorite dessert. He said mine were the best. The custard was amazing and the crunch on the shell was insane. Can you give me tips on why my dough was not as delicate and little on the tough/chewy side? I didn't use european butter and because of the weather, when I was pressing the dough into the muffin tin, it was a bit melty and had to really press it down to make it reach the top.. Do I need to use better butter, less or more kneading/manipulating of the dough, less or more water, use colder dough, switch to cake flour? Thank you for the amazing video and recipe and for any troubleshooting!
Hi chef John,
Loved the video and loved the tarts. Unbelievable texture and taste. WOW !
Made similar pastry years ago... but your simple, yet effective slant on how to do it was awesome !
Well done and thank you :-))
A minor problem was... my oven was not even calibrated to reach the high temperatures you suggested !!
BUT for anyone else out there frustratedly thinking after all the time/effort etc you will end up putting them in the bin ...... Watch them carefully, and yes they will be gorgeously crisp and worth all the effort and patience
Thank you Chef J DOUBLE DELICIOUS !!!
Margie Liverpool, England
Wow! This custard tarts look delicious! I love Portugal cuisines! I cannot wait to try my hands on this easy recipe.
I've made these a few times now, and here are a few things I've learned: First, it takes more water to get the dough to the right soft, sticky consistency. I suggest starting with a half cup. Next -- and granted, I'm a little fussy -- I cut the butter into thirds before softening it. That way, I know the amounts are even in each step. For me, it's a lot easier than guessing. Also, the last time I made these, I made both the pastry cases and the filling ahead of time, and chilled both unti I was ready to bake the tarts. The pastry turned out great, but the filling didn't get all spotty and yummy on top. Next time, I think I'll take the filling out about a half-hour ahead of time before filling and baking. Next to last, the baked tarts reheat pretty well. But PLEASE do it in the oven; not in the microwave! A 400 oven and about ten minutes did the trick for me. And finally -- granted, these are a bit fussy to make. But trust me, they are SO WORTH THE FUSS!! I've been an award-winning baker in years past, and these have been deemed by my whole family as EASILY the best thing I've ever baked.
Made these yesterday and they came out absolutely amazing, I couldnt believe it. Youre a god.
I'd recommend if you are making this in a warm environment to chill the butter between all lamination steps, not only the last one. I did this in the summer and my first lamination had butter oozing out of a few of those bubbles. Telling the butter to stay inside didn't help :)
Chef John you are amazing and we love you. I made these amazing pastries last thanksgiving and will make them again I just wanted to tell you that they remind me of sfogliatelle the italian version very similar. But thank you for all your amazing recipes, have not made one that we did not love! Best to you, maria.
Chef John, thanks for this recipe. Question- can I make the filling the night before as well? And keep in fridge to use in the AM?
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