These are PHENOMENAL. They taste identical to many Pastéis de Nata custard tarts I had in Portugal. Lemony custard encased in a butter crispy crust. Lightly charred on top like they do it in Portugal. The custard is honestly incredibly addicting, I can, and do, eat it by the spoonful. Just. WOW. Very indulgent but very worth it. These are delicious, but oh my goodness they are a lot of work. If you want to simplify things, simply buy puff pastry and roll it as demonstrated in the video. However, there are no shortcuts with the custard, it may take some practice to perfect.
The recipe is here, and pictures of the process are below:
Ingredients:
Dough:
300 g all purpose flour
3 g fine sea salt
205 g cold water
230 g room temperature unsalted butter (you want it to be quite soft)
Custard (three components):
Sugar syrup:
180 g white sugar
300 ml or g water
Cream mixture:
250 mL single/table cream (18% milk fat) (266 g)
1 cinnamon stick
Rind/peel of half a lemon (~10-12 g)
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract (2 g)
Egg yolk mixture:
100-110 g egg yolks (~6 large egg yolks)
50 mL milk (~50 g)
1 Tbsp. corn starch (9 g)
Directions:
To make the dough:
Mix together the flour and salt. Then pour in the water and mix for about 5 minutes until a dough forms with no dry spots. It doesn't have to be smooth, just not lumpy.
Cover and rest 20 minutes. Then do the lamination process with the butter. It's better if you see a video of how to do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG6y8p1i9nY&t=259s
Here are some tips for the lamination: When you're doing the folds, avoid creating any air pockets, and make sure to squish them out before rolling again. Try to lay the butter as evenly as possible. I used my fingers but an offset spatula would be good.
Wrap and chill the dough for several hours or one day. You can also freeze up to one month.
This recipe makes enough dough for 24 tarts. But the custard fills only 12.
To make the custard:
Video demonstration that I highly recommend watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUUOmN0zXZE
First whisk together the egg yolk mixture in a heat safe bowl, making sure all the cornstarch is mixed in completely. Set aside.
Add the sugar to a small pot and pour the water on top. Cook on low-medium heat for about 15 minutes. The sugar will melt and it will bubble.
When the sugar mixture reaches 100°C/212°F take it off the heat and set aside to cool.
Then, mix together the cream mixture in a medium pot. Begin heating on medium heat, covered, for about 5 minutes.
Slowly pour the sugar syrup into the cream mixture while constantly stirring with a spoon.
Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Carefully pour the hot cream and syrup mixture into the yolks, a little at a time, while whisking constantly. Once about 2/3 of the cream is whisked in, pour everything back in the pan and return to medium heat.
Stir with a spoon, constantly, until the mixture is thicken enough to coat the back of the spoon. Note: This happens in about 1-2 minutes, after that it starts curdling!
As soon as it's thickened take it of the heat. Pour it through a strainer and into a pitcher or something you can easily pour out of. Cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap, and chill for 2-3 hours and up to 5 days.
Tart assembly:
Cut the rough ends off one of your pastry logs. Then cut into 3/4 inch wide pieces and fit them into a 12-hole muffin pan. See the video for more details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG6y8p1i9nY&t=259s
Cover and chill the crusts for 1-3 hours in the refrigerator.
When ready to bake:
Preheat the oven to 440°F. You will bake on the middle rack.
When the oven is ready pour the custard into the chilled crusts. Bake for 18-28 minutes, or until dark patches form on top and the crust is golden and completely cooked. Note: You can use broil for a couple minutes at the end to try and get the leopard spots but don't burn the pastry!
Note: Butter will leak from the crust while baking but that's okay.
Remove from the oven and run a sharp knife around them to make sure nothing sticks.
Let cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool further. Best served fresh on the same day they are baked.
Before mixing the dough together.
After mixing the douhg, covering, and resting 20 minutes.
The first roll out.
Brush 2/3rds with soft butter.
Start folding like a letter.
Finish folding like a letter.
Rotate 90 degrees.
Second roll out, covered with 2/3rd butter again.
Make it a letter again.
Third and final roll out. And layered with the last layer of butter.
Start rolling it into a tight coil.
All rolled up!
Cut in half (each half makes about 12 tarts)
You can see the lamination!!!
Wrap the rolls and chill completely.
Meanwhile, make the custard!
The custard ingredients.
Combine the egg yolk mixture ingredients together.
Whisk the egg yolk mixture together thoroughly and set aside.
Then heat the sugar + water mixture together. First the mixture will melt and then start bubbling. You want to get close, or to 100F. Then take it off the heat and set aside.
Add the cream mixture to a saucepan. You cover and start heating it.
Once it's hot (mine was boiling), you add in your sugar syrup (next picture)
After mixing in the sugar syrup slowly.
Heat until boiling, then we'll use it to temper the egg yolks (not pictured).
After tempering the egg yolks mixture, returning to the heat, and heating a couple more minutes until thickened.
Strain it immediately, there will be the lemon and cinnamon (you can discard) and curdled custard that you can discard too or just eat :)
The strained custard. It will be kinda liquid.
Then put it in a container that's easy to pour from, cover with plastic wrap on the surface, and chill it.
Tart assembly:
Take one of your logs out (you only need one) and cut it into 12 pieces (you see 11 here because I already shaped one)
Place one inside.
Use your fingers to shape it into the mold, trying to preserve the layers.
All fitted and ready to cover and chill!
Once the custard and fitted pastry are fully chilled you can bake!
Fill the pan (there might be leftover custard, that's okay).
Filled tarts before baking.
Right after baking! I might have gone a little too far with the broil but that's okay :)
After cooling down a bit. Then you move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
So lovely.
Side view. Super golden and nice!
Kommentarer