Portuguese Egg Custard Tarts Recipe - Homemade Portuguese Egg Tarts - Edible Garden (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a custard tart and a Portuguese custard tart? ›

British tarts use the less flavoursome shortcrust pastry, which doesn't provide as much textural contrast with the smooth custard. They are also topped with nutmeg, which fails to bring the custard alive as Portugal's cinnamon does. Worse, they are now almost all mass-produced with palm oil-based pastry.

These tarts are best enjoyed warm, rather than hot, and eaten on the day they're made, though they do keep for a day or so (and will benefit from a quick crisp-up in the oven before serving).

Portuguese custard tarts (or pasteis de nata) are crisp, creamy, and decadently sweet. This Portuguese dessert recipe features a delicately spiced flavor and uses pantry ingredients like egg yolks, flour, and cinnamon to create a one-of-a-kind pastry.

The egg tart (traditional Chinese: 蛋撻; simplified Chinese: 蛋挞; Cantonese Yale: daahn tāat; pinyin: dàntǎ) is a kind of custard tart found in Chinese cuisine, derived from the English custard tart and Portuguese pastel de nata. The dish consists of an outer pastry crust filled with egg custard.

Portugal's tart has a flaky crust that is like the Hong Kong version. The two taste somewhat similar, but the pastel de nata has a caramelised surface, while the daan tat top is smooth and glossy.

Egg tarts aka 'dan tat 蛋挞' in cantonese are best served when they out of the oven— warm and crispy. The egg filling is soft and slightly sweet with a delicious egg flavor. The crust is buttery and flakey with a crispy and soft texture (similar to a croissant).

Because the tarts are made from eggs, cream and milk, it's important to store any leftovers in the fridge, where they can be kept for up to three days. That said, these tarts are at their peak when they're served fresh, still warm from the oven.

Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes. To unmold, tap the bottom of tart tin lightly on your work surface. Carefully turn it over and remove the tart from its tin. Serve immediately, while still warm, for best taste.

Pair with: Cream

Looking to neighbouring Portugal from Spains's sherry triangle provides a perfect pairing, CREAM or MEDIUM OLOROSO sherry with a gorgeous creamy eggy custard tart is the business!

What's the difference between egg custard and custard tart? ›

Custard tarts have long been a favourite pastry in Britain and the Commonwealth, where they are often called "egg custard tarts" or simply "egg custards" to distinguish the egg-based filling from the commonly served cornflour-based custards. They are sold in supermarkets and bakeries throughout the UK.

Portugal is famed the world over for the Pastel de Nata – crisp, flaky layers of pastry with a delicious, creamy egg-custard filling and a dusting of cinnamon. In 2009 The Guardian listed Pastéis de Nata as one of the 50 “best things to eat” in the world.

There are two kinds of egg tart you might be familiar with and the difference is the pastry. One kind is a flaky buttery pastry style which melts in the mouth and the other kind has a shortcrust cookie style pastry and it is the latter which I am sharing with you today.

Travellers the world over head for the Antiga Confeitaria de Belém (indicated on the link below) to satisfy their craving and the tart's ingredients have remained unaltered and a complete secret since production started in 1837.

If the heat is too high, the egg custard will not be even as the mixture may expand (then deflates), cracks or burn during the baking process. Should that happens, reduce the temperature to 160 degrees Celsius the next time you bake them.

There are three types of custard: baked, stirred, and frozen. Baked custards include bread pudding, flan, and cheesecake, and are prepared by baking in an oven or water bath. Boiled Custards include beverages like eggnog. Puddings, creme anglaise (krem on-GLAYZ), and pastry cream are some examples of stirred custards.

Custard is a creamy, light dessert or sauce made from boiling or baking an egg-and-milk mixture. Custards are of two types—stirred or baked. They are used as desserts, sauces, bases for other desserts, and some savory dishes, such as a quiche or a frittata.

It's not technically a Chinese native, however. Custard egg tarts have been a British confectionary since the medieval times andPortuguese pasteis de nata have been around since the 18th century, first made by Catholic monks in Belém,Portugal.

The Portuguese egg tart was invented thanks to monks and laundry. With its distinctive caramelized, creme brulee-like topping, pastéis de nata are arguably Portugal's favorite dessert. They were supposedly first made in the 13th century by monks in the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon.