Comments on: Pastéis de nata — Portuguese custard tarts

By: Francesca

Francesca — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:00:10 +0000

Thank you, Duncan. Actually I have just found the individual tins and ordered them from Tucha Gifts in Newark. These tins are from Portugal so they should be the right shape and size for pasteis de nata. I know most people here use muffin pans but I prefer the single tins because of storage problems and they will also be easier to handle when pressing down the dough. Happy baking!

By: Duncan

Duncan — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:22:01 +0000

@Francesca: I've only seen something like it once in Australia, perhaps at Chef's Hat in Melbourne. But seriously, standard muffin tins come very close as long as you don't make the pastry shell too deep.

By: Francesca

Francesca — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:18:43 +0000

Hi, Duncan.
Do you know any source for the traditional Portuguese tins, the individual ones in the actual size used in Portugal?
I have searched the Web for them and so far found none.
Thank you for any suggestion.

By: Frangipani

Frangipani — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:44:19 +0000

Hi Duncan
I made Portuguese tarts for the first time last week using Tessa Kiros's recipe from Piri Piri Starfish her Portuguese cook book. The custard used sugar syrup and was perfect, the pastry was more like a rich sweet short crust though but the end result was delicious. To add to the degree of difficulty I have a gluten free cake stall at Wesley Hill Market near Castlemaine every Saturday morning and I used White Wings gluten free flour but my customers were very happy with the result. I've yet to find a good gluten free puff pastry but am still searching. My custard had a few singed spots but I used a blowtorch to finish off successfully.

By: azélia

azélia — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:27:43 +0000

End of this week Duncan..going to start the journey of pasteis de nata recipes..starting with your recipe! Exciting!

Fed up with seeing so many bad ones out there! Including adding cinnamon to it!

By: Duncan

Duncan — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 04:32:10 +0000

@Ruth: thanks for the comment and good to hear of baking fun. Unfortunately, I'd say that it is hard to know what the target is without having tasted the real thing first. Crisp layered pastry is essential, as is a little blackening on top. The correct custard is not meant to be as delicate as one might expect in, say, a great English custard tart.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 10:18:49 +0000

I have become quite obsessed with these, as apparently have quite a few others – has this thread really been going for more than six years!

We held a Portugese tart competition at my workplace last year; with blind tastings and rating against objective criteria (yes, our obsession). Lots of the tarts, even from very fancy cafes, were quite below standard. I was surprised at how many tarts had stodgy or raw pastry, curdled fillings, no caramelisation etc.

The standout winner was the tart from a small cafe, which is at the top end of Little Collins Street. Certainly the best I have ever tasted (though I wouldn't mind a trip to Portugal to check authenticity). It has light flakey buttery pastry and soft but caramel-kissed custard. Tarts are only baked on Thursdays and often sell out by lunchtime – so if you want to try them, you will need to plan ahead.

By: Duncan

Duncan — Sun, 22 May 2011 09:48:10 +0000

Hi Azélia! Thanks for scaring me with that article. I laughed so hard at the crème fraîche! Plus cream and milk? Heavens! So have your experiments started?

By: azélia

azélia — Fri, 06 May 2011 08:18:55 +0000

Right Duncan – it's time I tackle these…it's been over a year now since having the blog and if you recall I wanted to make these then.

What has made me so suddenly want to make them now? was this recipe a friend sent me this morning:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/8438192/Portuguese-custard-tart-recipe.html

it got my blood boiling being it's in a national paper and all…ok I forgive the ready bought puff pastry…I get it…but the creme fraiche???? NO! no..no..no..

There was a pastry shop very recently voted the best pasteis de nata also in Belém and I was hoping to pop over there during a weekend to try them but won't have a chance.

If you remember my verdict on the custard of the pasteis de Belém was a real disappointment but the pastry was gorgeously thin and crispy. The best custard so far for me is the one in West London.

So the plan is over the coming weeks/months is to go through recipes…and will be making yours first…I always link people to your article whenever the subject comes up including this morning on twitter. And I will even do the lousy creme fraiche version to prove a point. If you notice closely in the photo they have curdled but cleverly bright lights have been shined on them I'm guessing to disguised it.

…and yes I am a OCD about them! a bit like with sourdough..and urm..Tortilla Espanola…caldo verde….yep just generally OCD.

By: Nadine

Nadine — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:22:16 +0000

Whilst I was living in Sydney and for every trip back there, I could not and cannot go past Pastelaria Caravela in Bondi Junction – Potugese cakes (and tarts of course) made with love (the custard differs ever so slightly every time; sometimes it is barely cooked – delicious!) by a Portugese family. I am very much looking forward to trying out your Pasteis De Nata!