History

Perfected at the Jeronimos monastery in Belem long before the 1834 dissolution of religious orders, the custard tart recipe was sold to a sugar refinery next door after that closure. Pasteis de Belem opened in 1837 and has guarded the original formula behind a locked door for the four generations since. Manteigaria reopened the conversation in 2014 with a modern, lighter version baked every twenty minutes.

Common allergens: Gluten, Eggs, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield Makes 12 tartsHands-on 1 hrTotal 3 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 350g all-butter puff pastry, rolled and laminated
  • 250ml whole milk
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 strip lemon peel
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 100ml water
  • 30g plain flour
  • 6 egg yolks
  • Icing sugar and ground cinnamon, to finish

Method

  1. Roll the puff pastry into a tight log, rest 30 minutes in the fridge.
  2. Slice the log into 12 discs, press each into a greased muffin tin, pressing thin up the sides.
  3. Warm the milk with cinnamon stick and lemon peel to a simmer, then take off the heat to infuse.
  4. Boil sugar and water to soft-ball stage, around 110C. Stir flour into the infused milk to a smooth slurry.
  5. Pour the hot sugar syrup into the milk mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly until thickened.
  6. Off the heat, whisk in the egg yolks until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve.
  7. Fill each pastry case three-quarters full. Bake at 280C for 12 to 15 minutes until tops blister black.
  8. Cool 10 minutes, dust with icing sugar and cinnamon, eat while still warm.

Tip from the editors. Your home oven probably tops out at 250C. Get it as hot as it goes and place the tray near the top, the blistered top matters more than the timer.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat pastel de nata

Pastel de nata in Lisbon

Pasteis de Belem ★ 4.8

belemDaily 08:00-21:00, until 22:00 in summerWalk-in onlyPastel de nata, the original 1837 recipe

Pasteis de Belem in Lisbon's Belem: the original pastel de nata, made by hand from a Jeronimos-monastery recipe held in secret since 1837.

Worth the queue: Pastel de Belem, dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar

Rua de Belem 84-92, 1300-085 Lisboa

Manteigaria Chiado ★ 4.7

chiadoDaily 08:00-24:00Walk-in onlyModern pastel de nata, baked every twenty minutes

Manteigaria's Chiado flagship in Lisbon: an Art Nouveau corner on Rua do Loreto where pastel de nata trays land hot every twenty minutes, 1.50 euros.

Worth the queue: Pastel de nata at 1.50 euros, eaten at the counter

Rua do Loreto 2, 1200-108 Lisboa

Manteigaria Belem ★ 4.6

belemDaily 08:00-21:00Walk-in onlyPastel de nata steps from the Jeronimos monastery

Manteigaria Belem in Lisbon: the modern pastel-de-nata contender's Rua de Belem outpost a short walk from Pasteis de Belem, for the side-by-side tasting.

Worth the queue: Pastel de nata, hot from the oven

Rua de Belem 31, 1300-082 Lisboa

Confeitaria Nacional ★ 4.5

BaixaMon-Sat 08:00-20:00, Sun 09:00-20:00Walk-in onlyOld-Lisbon patisserie, opened 1829

Confeitaria Nacional on Lisbon's Praca da Figueira: the city's oldest patisserie, in continuous operation since 1829, six generations of one family.

Worth the queue: Bolo Rei, the Christmas crown loaf introduced here in 1875

Praca da Figueira 18B, 1100-241 Lisboa

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