PASTEL DE NATA - Portuguese custard tarts for all levels!

How did Pastel de Nata come about? There has been an evolution between previous Portuguese pastries and what we know now-a-days as Pastel de Nata. I don't mean to give you an in-depth history lesson, but knowing the origin of what you are about to bake and eat will make it all taste even better, you'll see! After all, if this is Portugal's most iconic treat, it had to have some proper history behind it...

Pastel de Nata making starts similarly to a bread or pizza recipe! But, in this case,  we will start the recipe making a "dead dough", that is, a dough without yeast that is not meant to rise. This is the base dough which we will eventually turn into puff pastry. If you have a dough mixer at home, I will show you how to make the most of it to achieve this part of the recipe. If you don't have a mixer, don't worry! I also show how to do it all by hand, which is actually more fun for those who literally like getting their hands "dirty"!

Puff pastry can be intimidating, even for home-bakers who may be experienced with other types of cooking techniques. Fear not! When you break it down step by step, puff pastry is fairly simple and actually fun to make.

After showing you how to make the dough, we will go into how to upgrade that dough into flaky puff pastry. In Portugal it is customary to use vegetable margarine for puff pastry, and many other cakes too. But this is no ordinary margarine! It's margarine specific for puff pastry, pastel de nata and croissant, which is locally known as margarina para folhados. It doesn't get burnt even at very high temperatures, which is super important as Pastel de Nata is baked at a high temperature so that it caramelizes as it should. Please don't use regular store bought margarine for this, the one you'd spread on toast, as the results won't be the same. If you can't get puff pastry level margarine (normally sold in establishments for the F&B industry or baking supply stores), I'd recommend using butter instead. While this recipe calls for 250 grams (8.8 oz) of margarine, the amount if using butter would be 180 grams (6.3 oz) - margarine and butter have different consistency and water content, as such, the amounts used would be different!

It's funny how Pastel de Nata literally translates into "cream tart", and the recipe includes no cream! The name came about because it is indeed creamy and, of course, milk does contain cream after all. This creaminess is what makes this pastry so great! The contrast between the flaky pastry on the outside and the smooth slightly runny custard on the inside is a delight! In this lecture, we go into how to make the custard using simple ingredients. Apart from the standard recipe for custard, I include my signature touches which are subtle but do make a difference: cinnamon stick and lemon rind. I encourage you to try out different mounts to see what you like best. In Portugal, some folks love the lemony touch, while others prefer that it's more cinnamony. It's up to you to try out different amounts and discover what you end up liking the most.

Keep in mind that there's one last step we need to make to complete the custard, after it cools down and we're ready to bake - see Lecture 7 on Section 5 to see this finishing step!

If you truly want to achieve authentic looking and tasting Pastel de Nata, I urge you to get some pastry molds specific for this Portuguese pastry.

These are the standard measurements of Pastel de Nata tins:

Base: 3,5cm | 1.4 inches

Top part: 7cm | 2.7 inches

Height: 3cm | 1.2 inches

Genuine Pastel de Nata molds are inexpensive and fairly easy to source - ask me for advice and I can help you figure this out, depending where you are in the world.

In this lecture, I show you how to season your Pastel de Nata molds before their very first use. This is an important step to ensure your molds are ready to be used for a long, long time. This process guarantees perfect baking in these non-stick tins, while also optimizing the molds for your own safety.

When you go out and eat a Pastel de Nata, you can do a simple test for the quality of its crust: lift the pastry and inspect the bottom. The puff pastry laminations should appear as a spiral - this clearly shows that the baker knew the right technique for Pastel de Nata. During this lecture, I show you how to spread the puff pastry on the Pastel de Nata molds in this signature way, for maximum flakiness and crispy results. We also go over the last finishing touches for the custard and how to assemble your pastries before they finally go into the oven.

Pastel de Nata is baked at very high temperatures, allowing for the top layer of the custard to caramelize, while the puff pastry around it gets beautifully golden. Many people, even here in Portugal, think home ovens won't be good enough for this, but this is actually not true! I teach you how to use your home oven to bake perfect pastries. But because all ovens are different, it wouldn't be enough to say how many minutes you have to bake your pastries for. Instead, I show you how to know when they are done!

We couldn't end this course without tasting at least one Pastel de Nata together, right? I show you how to easily unmold the pastries when you use the original Pastel de Nata tins.

As a good Portuguese, I couldn't resist sharing my favorite pastries with you, telling you how to elevate the tasting experience using powdered cinnamon and even recommending some drink pairings that go great with your Pastel de Nata.

Thank you very much for joining this Pastel de Nata Course. I truly hope you have fun baking at home, and I am very positive that with time, a little patience, and lots of positive vibes you will accomplish incredible results. I hope you get to travel to Portugal one day, and you come visit me at my bakery, Pastelaria Batalha. Who knows, we could maybe even do a Pastel de Nata competition? I'm sure you'll do great! ;) Keep baking and having fun in the kitchen. Obrigado!

Final notes regarding completing this course. Ask me anything about the recipe, ingredients and where to find original Pastel de Nata molds. Well-done for getting here! :)

If you enjoyed this course, I'd love to invite you to check out my most recent courses on Udemy, dedicated to Portuguese Christmas specialties:

- Bolo Rei (King's Cake) and Bolo Rainha (Queen's Cake)

- Portuguese Christmas Desserts (Rabanadas, Sonhos de Natal, Filhós, Coscorões and Azevias).