Muffin Tin Pastéis de Nata
Pastéis de Nata·(pahsh-TAYS de NAH-tah)
Doces: Sweet Endings and Coffee Hour
If you grew up Portuguese-American, the scent of lemon peel and cinnamon simmering in milk is the undisputed aroma of home. The Pastel de Nata is the crown jewel of Lisbon bakeries—a shatteringly crisp shell holding a scorched, velvety egg custard. You don't need a multi-day lamination process or specialized monastery tins to pull this off on a Tuesday. The secret lies in a stabilizing sugar syrup, a cold, wet thumb, and an oven as hot as hell itself. Make them right, serve them warm, and pass the cinnamon.
Before you start
Keep a bowl of ice water next to you for shaping.
Don't try to press the dough into the tin with dry, warm hands; it will tear and the butter will melt. Dipping your thumb in ice water lets you effortlessly mold the dough up the sides of the tin.
Ingredients
- all-butter puff pastry14 oz
- all-purpose flour3 tbsp
- whole milk1 1/4 cup
- egg yolks6 large
- granulated white sugar1 1/3 cup
- water1/3 cup
- cinnamon stick1 large
- fresh lemon2 large
- vanilla extract1 tsp
- powdered sugar1 tbsp
- ground cinnamon1 tbsp
Method
- 01
Roll the puff pastry into a tight log and cut into discs.
Unroll the cold pastry, stack the sheets if there are two, and roll it away from you into a tight cigar shape from the short end. Trim the uneven ends and slice into twelve 1-inch discs.
- 02
Shape the pastry shells in a muffin tin using the wet thumb technique.
Place a disc spiral-side up in a greased muffin tin. Dip your thumb in ice water and press straight down into the center, pushing the dough outward and up the sides. You want a paper-thin bottom and a slightly thicker rim. Chill the tin while you work on the custard.
- 03
Whisk the flour and a splash of milk into a smooth slurry.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour with a quarter cup of the milk and whisk until completely smooth and free of lumps.
- 04
Boil the aromatics and sugar into an infused syrup.
Combine the sugar, water, cinnamon stick, and lemon peel in a small saucepan. Bring it to a rolling boil over medium-high heat without stirring for exactly one to two minutes, then immediately remove from the heat.
- 05
Scald the remaining milk and thicken the base.
Heat the remaining cup of milk until tiny bubbles form around the edges. Pour it into your flour slurry while whisking, return the whole mixture to the saucepan, and cook for a few minutes until it thickens to the consistency of heavy cream.
- 06
Temper the custard with the hot syrup and egg yolks.
Pluck out the cinnamon and lemon peel, then stream the hot syrup into the thickened milk while whisking constantly. Let it cool for a few minutes, then vigorously whisk in the egg yolks and vanilla. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve to catch any stray lumps.
- 07
Bake the tarts at the highest possible heat until violently scorched.
Crank your oven to 500°F (260°C) or higher. Fill the chilled pastry shells three-quarters full and bake on the top rack for 10 to 15 minutes. They are ready when the pastry is golden and the custard is puffed up with signature black blisters.
- 08
Let the tarts settle before serving warm.
The violently puffed custard will collapse as it cools—this is exactly what it’s supposed to do. Let them rest in the tin for 10 minutes, pry them out gently, and serve warm dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon.
Notes
Your oven needs to be blazing hot.
To achieve the authentic blistered top without overcooking the eggs into rubber, bake these at 500°F or 550°F. The extreme heat flash-steams the puff pastry and scorches the custard exactly the way they do it in Lisbon.
Don't skip the sugar syrup.
Many generic recipes just mix heavy cream and sugar. Boiling a proper infused syrup (calda de açúcar) chemically stabilizes the eggs so they don't scramble at high heat, giving you that silky, perfect bite.