Desserts
Pastéis de nata with lemon-cinnamon custard
AI-generated serving image
This image was created with the help of artificial intelligence and serves as visual inspiration or a serving suggestion. The actual result may vary depending on the ingredients, quantities and preparation used.
Small puff-pastry tarts with milk-and-yolk custard and dark baked spots. This home version uses bought butter puff pastry and a hot oven rather than claiming a particular bakery’s secret recipe.
Timing
- Preparation: about 25 minutes, including about 10 minutes during cooling
- Cooking custard and baking: about 25 minutes
- Cooling: about 25 minutes total
- Total time: about 1 hour 5 minutes
Estimated nutrition
per serving · Calculated for 4 servings.
- Energy
- ≈ 550 kcal
- Protein
- ≈ 9.3 g
- Carbohydrates
- ≈ 55.6 g
- Fat
- ≈ 31.8 g
The nutrition values are estimates based on the ingredients and quantities used. Actual values may vary depending on the product, portion size and preparation.
Calculation basis
Item weights and household measures are estimated. Unless specified: milk with 1.5% fat, cream with 30% fat and Gouda cheese. Optional ingredients, small amounts of seasoning and separately listed side dishes are excluded. For imprecise entries, the amounts below and comparable reference products are assumed. For alternatives, the first listed ingredient is used. Cooking losses have not been measured.
Includes 250 g butter puff pastry, whole milk and 80 g yolk without whites. All sugar and mould butter are counted; removed lemon peel and cinnamon stick are excluded. Eight tarts make four servings of two each.
Quantity assumptions and ingredient mapping
- 250 g chilled butter puff pastry · ≈ 250.0 g · Assumed quantity / reference product
- 250 ml whole milk, divided · ≈ 250.0 g · Assumed quantity / reference product
- 120 g sugar · ≈ 120.0 g · Assumed quantity / reference product
- 25 g plain wheat flour · ≈ 25.0 g · Assumed quantity / reference product
- 4 medium egg yolks, about 80 g total · ≈ 80.0 g · Assumed quantity / reference product
- 5 g butter for the moulds · ≈ 5.0 g · Assumed quantity / reference product
Matvaretabellen: Mattilsynet · Santa Maria
Food data: Max Rubner-Institut, BLS 4.0 (2025), CC BY 4.0. Calculated and rounded for this recipe. BLS 4.0 · CC BY 4.0
Ingredients
- 250 g chilled butter puff pastry
- 250 ml whole milk, divided
- 120 g sugar
- 25 g plain wheat flour
- 4 medium egg yolks, about 80 g total
- 2 g unwaxed lemon peel in wide strips, without white pith
- 1 small cinnamon stick, about 3 g
- 5 g butter for the moulds
Instructions
- Lightly butter eight metal moulds about 7 cm across. Roll cold pastry without packaging into a tight log, cut into eight equal discs and set cut-side down in moulds. With lightly damp thumbs press thinly from the centre across bases and up the sides. Refrigerate.
- Whisk 50 ml milk with flour until smooth. Heat remaining 200 ml milk with sugar, lemon peel and cinnamon. Once steaming and sugar has dissolved, whisk in flour mixture and simmer gently for about 1–2 minutes until thickened. Remove peel and spice.
- Transfer custard to a bowl and cool for about 15 minutes until lukewarm, stirring occasionally. Beat yolks, temper with a little lukewarm custard, then stir in fully. Do not add yolks to boiling milk.
- Preheat oven in good time to 250°C conventional heat. Fill moulds about three-quarters full, set on a metal tray and bake on the lower-middle shelf for about 15–18 minutes. Pastry should be crisp and custard set with individual dark-brown spots rather than entirely black.
- Cool for about 10 minutes, then carefully unmould. Serve warm, taking care because the custard stays very hot inside.
Tips
- Eight tarts make four servings of two each. Metal moulds encourage crisp bases; silicone does not brown the same way.
- Do not use paper cases rated below 250°C. Save whites separately for another recipe; they are not part of this serving.
