I just love these Portuguese Egg Tarts.

When i was working in Zhuhai, which is on the border with Macau. When I was visiting Macau, I walked immediately to “Cookie Street” and bought beautifully baked and luscious Portuguese Egg Tarts (Pastel de Nata). These popular treats are a real delight. In Macau you can smell their vanilla fragrance along the narrow streets and wide squares of the city. 

These cute and richly-satisfying Pastel de Nata bring back my memories in Macau and Guangdong Province. The busy streets, the crowd, the mix of Eastern and Western culture, the history of Western colonisation, and the ornamental religious architecture. To bring back those joyful memories in the strongest way, I recreate the tarts with a simple recipe! These Portuguese Egg Tarts have a crispy crust made from puff pastry and a creamy and sweet egg custard inside!

Ingredients

Tart Crust

• 1 sheet of Puff Pastry

Tart Filling

• 100 g Granulated Sugar
• 75 ml Water
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• Peel from 1 Lemon (Make sure you wash all the wax from the lemon first)
• 6 Egg Yolks
• 2 tbsp Cornflower
• 350 ml / 1 1/2 cups Whole Milk
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Vanilla Paste / Extract

Instructions

Prepare the Tart Crust

1. Butter the Muffin Tin.
2. Take the Puff Pastry out of the fridge directly. Remove from package and fold the Puff Pastry into a long roll shape. Cut the pastry into 12 equal pieces.
3. Place each piece into the Muffin Tin( Cut piece down). Use your thumb and fingertips to spread the pastry and fit the size of each tin.
4. Prick the bottom of each tart dough. Refrigerate the Pie Crust dough for at least 30 minutes while preparing the Tart Filling.

Prepare the Tart Filling

1. First prepare the Sugar Syrup. On medium heat, in a saucepan, heat up the Water and Sugar until the Sugar is fully dissolved.
2. Add in Lemon Peels and the Cinnamon Stick. Simmer on medium heat for 3-5 minutes.
3. Sift the Sugar Syrup (take out the Lemon Peels and the Cinnamon Stick) into another bowl. Set aside and let cool.
4. In a glass bowl, whisk together the Cornstarch, Salt, and 1/3 of Sweet Whole Milk.
5. Add the rest of the Milk into a saucepan on medium heat. When the Milk is about to boil at the edges, add in the Cornstarch mixture. Whisk constantly until you have a slightly thickened texture. It will take 3-5 minutes.
6. Remove from heat. Let cool for a few minutes. Then add in the Sugar Syrup and Vanilla Paste. Combine well.
7. In another bowl, use a ladle to add the warm milk mixture slowly into the Egg Yolks. Quickly whisk them together to avoid the yolks scrambling. Whisk until the texture is smooth.
8. Then pour the mixture into the pot and mix well together. 
9. Use a strainer to strain the tart filling into a measuring cup. Set aside.
10. Take the Tart Crust out from the fridge. Add in the filling up to about 90% close to the top of each tart.

Bake the Egg Tarts

1. Bake the Egg Tarts in a preheated oven at 200 C (392 F) for 10 minutes. Then lower the heat to 180 C (356 F) and bake for another 15-20 minutes.
2. Let the Egg Tarts cool down on a rack before removing from the Muffin Tin the custard will sink a little.
3. Best served while warm.

Notes