The pastel de nata was born in the monastery of Jerónimos in Belém, on the edge of Lisbon, where the monks are believed to have used leftover egg yolks to make them. When the monastery closed in the 1830s, the recipe passed to a neighboring bakery that still sells them by the thousand and keeps its original recipe secret. Every café in Portugal now sells its own version, usually eaten in two bites with a coffee and a shake of cinnamon.

Professional bakers use ovens far hotter than any home kitchen to scorch the custard tops. A home oven turned to its highest setting, store bought puff pastry rolled into a spiral and a muffin tin get remarkably close. The custard is cooked first on the stove, so the oven needs only to set it and blister the top.

The pastry cases

Ingredients

• 1 sheet (about 9 oz / 250 g) all butter puff pastry
• 1 teaspoon softened butter
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Method

1. Lightly flour the counter. Unroll the pastry and roll it up tightly from one short side into a firm log. Trim the ragged ends and cut the log into 12 equal rounds, each about 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick.
2. Grease the muffin cups lightly with butter. Put a round in each cup, spiral side up. Dip your thumbs in the cold water and press each round into the center and then out and up the sides, until the pastry is thin and rises just above the rim. Refrigerate the tin while you make the custard.

The custard

Ingredients

• 1 cup (200 g) sugar
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 strips lemon peel
• 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) whole milk
• 1/4 cup (30 g) all purpose flour
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Method

1. Put the sugar, water, cinnamon stick and lemon peel in the small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring and boil until the thermometer reads 220°F (104°C), about 3 to 4 minutes.
2. In the medium saucepan, whisk 1/4 cup (60 ml) of the milk with the flour until smooth. Heat the remaining milk in the microwave or a pan until steaming, then whisk it into the flour mixture. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Remove the cinnamon stick and lemon peel from the syrup. Pour the hot syrup into the milk base in a thin stream, whisking all the time. Pour into the jug and leave to cool for 30 minutes.
4. Whisk the egg yolks and vanilla into the warm custard, then pour it through the sieve back into the jug.

The bake

Ingredients

Method

1. Take the tin from the fridge and fill each case about three quarters full with the custard.
2. Bake on the top rack at 500°F (260°C) or higher for 12 to 16 minutes. If your oven has a broiler, use it for the last 1 to 2 minutes to scorch the tops, watching every second.
3. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then lift out with a small knife onto a rack and cool 10 minutes more. The custard settles as it cools.

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