This is the place where we are going to post our recipes from our NSTV Show, “Bringing the World to Your Table”, and our newsletter. Until we start traveling again, we are still cooking - and that is a wonderful way to share the world.
Join us in Portugal for a delicious tart. A Large Pasteis de Nata! They eat these for breakfast, but we think you can eat them anytime! Feel free to email us at info@travelwithabbyandmegan.com with any questions.
RECIPE: Large Custard Tart – Pasteis de Nata Country: Portugal
Ingredients
Butter for greasing
2 pre-rolled, all-butter puff pastry
Plain flour for dusting
1 medium free-range egg white, beaten, for brushing
1 + 1/3 cup whole milk
Zest from 1 lemon
1 cinnamon stick
1/3 cup plain flour
1 + 1/3 Cups caster sugar, plus 50g (or 20g icing sugar; see tip) to serve
4 medium free-range egg yolks
You’ll also need…
9-inch spring form pan. Probe Thermapen.
Directions for Cooking:
Heat the oven to 350°degrees. Generously grease the cake tin with butter. Unroll the packs of pastry (remove the lining sheets), and then tightly roll the pastry back up. Slice each roll into 16 equal discs, then, on a lightly floured surface, roll out each disc to less than ¼ inch thick. Line the cake tin with the pastry discs by carefully pressing each piece into the base and up the sides of the tin. You’ll need to go 2 ore 3 inches up the sides of the cake tin, overlapping the discs to make sure there are no gaps.
Line the pastry case with foil and fill with ceramic baking beans or uncooked rice, and then bake for 22 minutes. Remove the foil and the beans/rice, then brush the pastry with a little of the beaten egg white. Bake for 5-6 minutes more until the pastry has no grey patches and feels dry. You may need to push the pastry down a little if it has puffed up. Turn down the oven to 325*.
Meanwhile, put the milk in a medium heavy-based saucepan with the pared lemon zest and cinnamon stick. Heat until simmering, and then leave to cool a little and infuse. Remove and discard the zest and cinnamon.
Put the flour into a mixing bowl and whisk in a third of the infused milk to make a thin paste. Whisk in the remaining milk, then return the mixture to the pan and heat gently for 2-3 minutes, whisking constantly with a balloon whisk, until it has a thick custard consistency.
Put the sugar in a small heavy-based pan with ½ cup water. Heat gently to melt the sugar, then turn up the heat and boil for 4-5 minutes until the syrup reaches 220*-225* degrees on a digital probe thermometer. Gradually whisk the syrup into the thickened milk – it will form a white liquid the thickness of double cream (don’t worry if it’s a bit lumpy). Strain it through a fine sieve into a jug, discarding any lumps.
Put the egg yolks into a mixing bowl, and beat lightly, then pour over the strained milk/syrup mixture, stirring with the balloon whisk all the time until combined to form custard.
Pour the custard into the baked pastry case, and then bake for 40 minutes until just set with a slight wobble. Leave the tart to cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then remove from the tin and transfer to a wire rack.
When the tart has cooled completely, sprinkle the 1.8 ounces caster sugar over the top and use a *blowtorch to caramelize the sugar. Serve sliced on its own or with crème fraîche or cream. *You may also put under the broiler for a few minutes. Keep watch!
Tips:
Plan B: If you don’t have a blowtorch, dust the top of the tart with icing sugar.
Make the tart up to 24 hours ahead but broil or blow torch the top just before serving. Keep the tart in a sealed container in the fridge.