Portuguese Custard Tarts
Inroduction
About this Recipe
By: Sheridan Rogers
The Chinese love custard tarts. So do the Portuguese. One theory suggests that egg tarts evolved from pastel de nata in Portugal and travelled to Hong Kong via the Portuguese colony of Macau. The recipe for these luscious tarts is much sought after. Here is a fabulous home-made version.
Ingredients
- butter puff pastry sheets 1 packet
- egg yolks 5
- caster sugar 120g
- pouring cream 250ml
- salt a pinch
- caster sugar 2 teaspoons mixed with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Defrost the pastry and cut into 11.5cm rounds (you may need to cut a circle first from foil to help guide you, or use a 11.5 cm cake tin, if you have one). You should get 4 circles from each sheet. Lightly butter 12 tartlet (or muffin) tins measuring 6.5 cm across the bottom. Fit pastry into tins, leaving overhand. Chill. Preheat oven to 200degC. For the custard: whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, gradually adding cream and salt. Pour into a saucepan, cook over low heat, stirring all the time (use a wooden spoon), until mixture coats the back of the spoon. Immediately pour custard into a clean bowl and cool to room temperature, stirring. Spoon custard into prepared tartlet cases, dividing it evenly between them. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the custard comes out clean. Cool a few minutes in tins, then remove to cool completely. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar before serving, if liked. For a caramelized top, run them quickly under a hot grill or flame the tops with a blowtorch.