Recipe courtesy of David Leite
Be sure to check out Leite's Culinaria for tons of delicious recipes. I didn't have time to post the recipe yesterday so I'm doing it today. These are one of Portugals most known desserts. Let me tell you, one bite into these and you can't just put them down, it's amazing. They are these small little "tarts". If you try them out let me know how they turned out. I usually make a bunch of these and they are GONE that same day.
Pastry
Puff Pastry
(the longer way you would make the pastry from scratch,
but I'm all for shortcuts since I don't have the time to
be in the kitchen that long)
Custard
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup granulated sugar
6 egg yolks
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/16-inch thickness.
- Cut out 6 (4 1/2-inch) circles.
- (If you don't have a cookie cutter, a wide-mouth jar works well.) Ease the dough circles into a 12-cup (4-ounce capacity) nonstick muffin tin, pressing out any overlapping folds.
- Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Place the tin in the freezer for 5 minutes.
- Remove and trim any overhang with the back of a knife so that the pastry cups are flush with the top of the tins.
- Line dough cups with cupcake papers and fill with dried beans or pastry weights.
- Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 8 to 10 minutes to set.
- Make the custard.
- Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 cup of the cream in a medium bowl.
- Add the remaining cream and sugar, and stir until the mixture is smooth and the sugar dissolves.
- Check for sugar granules with a spoon; none should remain.
- In a small bowl, blend the yolks with a fork until smooth.
- Add the yolks to the cream mixture, stirring gently to combine.
- Ladle the egg mixture into the partially baked pastry cups, filling to 2/3 capacity.
- Bake in at 350°F (180°C) until the edges of the custard are puffed and middle is still jiggly, about 20 to 25 minutes.
- (The custard will continue to cook.) Cool completely in the tin.
- The pastéis are best when eaten the same day.
Sandra, Glad you like our recipe for Pastéis de Nata. Thanks for posting it! I like your shortcut of using prepared puff pastry. One note: I'd suggest making sure you dock or prick the dough really well so it doesn't puff up so much that it makes the custard overflow.
ReplyDeleteIf your readers want to try their hand at the pastry, which is really simple, they can find it here http://www.leitesculinaria.com/recipes/port/pasteis_nata.html .
Sandra, Glad you like our recipe for Pastéis de Nata. Thanks for posting it! I like your shortcut of using prepared puff pastry. One note: I'd suggest making sure you dock or prick the dough really well so it doesn't puff up so much that it makes the custard overflow.
ReplyDeleteIf your readers want to try their hand at the pastry, which is really simple, they can find it here http://www.leitesculinaria.com/recipes/port/pasteis_nata.html .