pastéis de nata (portuguese custard tarts)

to make 14-16 tarts (7cm diameter). use little tins or a muffin tray.

pastry:

    * 200g flour
    * 30g icing sugar
    * 160g chilled butter
    * 120ml cold water

sift together the flour and icing sugar. rub in 40g butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. (you can also use the robot with blade attachment for this). add 120ml water and quickly make a soft dough adding more water if necessary. knead a little, wrap in cling film a place in the fridge for 15 minutes.

roll into a rectangle 30cm x 10cm. take another 40g of the cold butter and cut into very small pieces. dot 2/3 of the lentgh of the rectangle with it, leaving a 1cm margin. fold the third without butter over and then fold the buttered third from the other side over it. seal the edges, wrap again and chill for 10 minutes.

roll out again and fold the same way once more but without adding the butter. repeat twice after this, using 40g of butter each time. roll and fold the last time without butter and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

take the pastry out of the fridge and roll into a rectangle about 30cm x 20cm. carefully roll into a sausage and cut into 2cm slices. place a slice of the pastry into the tin. using your thumbs, press the pastry so that it opens and fills the tin, rotating the tin at the same time. the bottom should be thinner than the sides. keep your thumbs wet to prevent them from sticking. the pastry should come out of the tin a little.

place the prepared tins into the fridge and chill for at least 1 hour.


custard filling:

    * 100g caster sugar
    * 3t bsp water
    * 30g flour
    * 185ml milk
    * 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
    * a piece of lemon rind
    * 3 egg yolks
    * 125ml cream


preheat the oven to 250°C. the pastries bake at 220° but the temperature will drop when you open the oven.

place the sugar in a heavy based pan and add the water. stir to dissolve the sugar. gently boil until it thickens a little (without colouration).

mix the flour with a little of the milk, adding it slowly and whisking well to get a smooth runny mixture. put the rest of the milk in a small pan and add the vanilla and lemon rind. just before the milk starts to boil pour it into the flour mixture, whisking the whole time. take out the lemon rind and add the egg yolks. return to the pan and whisk well over very gentle heat for a minute. be careful not to cook the egg yolks as they will curdle. remove from the heat. slowly pour in the sugar syrup, whisking the whole time. add the cream.

fill the prepared pastries with the custard up to 2/3 and bake in the middle of the oven at 220°C (or slightly more) for 15 - 20 minutes. they are ready when dark specles appear on the top.

serve with a little cinnamon on top.