Name: Portuguese Egg Tart Recipe
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 1 h 8 min
Cuisine: Portuguese
Ingredients: 100g cake flour; 25g unsalted butter (for mixing into dough); 2g salt; 60 ml cold water; 60 g unsalted butter (softened at room temperature, for brushing on the dough); 100 g granulated sugar; 90 ml water; 1 cinnamon stick; 1/2 lemon zest; 12 g cake flour; 8g cornstarch; 150ml milk; 3 egg yolks

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Here's the recipe for Portugal's traditional pastry, the Egg Tart. It consists of a crispy crust filled with a luscious, creamy custard.

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Recipe Videos
History of Egg Tarts
Egg tarts from various countries
Pastel de nata, a Portuguese egg tart
Instructions
Want to make an authentic recipe
Equipment
See more recipes
Portuguese Egg Tart Recipe

Recipe Videos

History of Egg Tarts

In Portugal, there's a pastry known as Pastel de Nata or Pastel de Belém. It is said to have been invented by the nuns of the Jerónimos Monastery in the district of Belém in Lisbon, dating back to the 18th century.

Portuguese desserts often feature rich and intense flavors, with many of them incorporating egg yolks. I had the chance to stay in Porto, Portugal during my travels, and while enjoying these pastries daily, I found them so delectably rich that I was afraid of feeling a bit overwhelmed by indulging too much.

The reason why egg yolks are commonly used in Portuguese desserts is believed to have historical origins. In the past, egg whites were used as a type of iron glue in monasteries, leaving an excess of egg yolks. To avoid waste, these leftover egg yolks found their way into various sweet treats, thus becoming a prevalent ingredient in Portuguese pastries.

Similarly, the famous Bordeaux delicacy, Canelé, is said to have originated from using the surplus egg yolks left over after using egg whites to clarify wine sediment. It appears that in the past, there were more recipes focused on utilizing excess egg yolks rather than ways to consume egg whites.

Egg tarts from various countries

Egg tarts are found in various countries, including Portugal's Pastel de Nata, England's Custard Tart, Chinese Egg Tart, and versions in Hong Kong and Macau.

There are two main types of crust for egg tarts: one made with cookie-like tart crust and the other with pie crust.

Looking at the recipes, the tarts in England and China use tart crust, while Portugal uses pie crust. Macau, which was under Portuguese rule, primarily uses pie crust. On the other hand, Hong Kong, located close to both China and Macau and under British rule, offers both variations—tart crust and pie crust. These egg tarts offer a glimpse into history through their recipes, reflecting the cultural influences and colonial ties of each region.

Pastel de nata, a Portuguese egg tart

You can make it with pie crust and custard cream, this time I tried the traditional method used in Portugal.

In the traditional approach, instead of folding butter into the wheat flour dough like in French pastry, you thinly spread butter (or lard) over a stretched sheet of wheat flour dough and roll it up into a swirl. Then, you thinly slice it vertically and line the mold with these slices. This primitive pie crust-making method creates layers of wheat flour and butter that resemble a pie crust.
(As it may be a bit difficult to visualize through text, consider watching a video or referring to the photo below!)

When I saw this method, it reminded me of a pastry from Naples, Italy – Sfogliatella.

Sfogliatella is a pastry from Naples, Italy, made by thinly stretching wheat flour dough, spreading lard, rolling it into a swirl, slicing it, and then pushing it from the center to form a shell-like shape. It's filled with ricotta cream and baked.

This dough-making method is indeed the very prototype of pie crust, but it results in an even crispier texture than the traditional folded pie crust. For those who have tried Sfogliatella, they would understand the sensation of it being incredibly crispy to the point of feeling like it might cut your mouth.

The filling is not your typical custard cream; instead, it's a recipe that incorporates syrup to achieve a smoother and silkier texture.

Here's the recipe for homemade Sfogliatella

Sfogliatella Recipe : Traditional Pastry from Naples, Italy

Instructions

Tart Crust

In a bowl or stand mixer, add the strong flour, diced butter, and salt

In a bowl or stand mixer, add the bread flour, diced butter, and salt.

Add cold water little by little. Keep kneading until the dough becomes shiny and comes together, and it no longer sticks to your hands and has improved elasticity.

Knead the dough on a floured surface until it forms a smooth ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Custard Cream

Make the syrup In a small saucepan, heat the granulated sugar, water, cinnamon stick, and lemon zest; bring to a boil to dissolve the granulated sugar

Let's make the syrup. In a small saucepan, combine granulated sugar, water, cinnamon stick, and lemon zest. Place it on the heat, bring it to a boil, and dissolve the granulated sugar.

In a separate saucepan, combine the flour and cornstarch and pour in the milk a little at a time, mixing with a whipper to dissolve

In a separate saucepan, put the cake flour and cornstarch, then slowly pour in the milk while stirring with a whisk to combine and dissolve.

Continue mixing over medium heat with a whipper over heat to prevent the bottom from burning Heat until creamy

Place the saucepan on the heat and continue stirring with a whisk over medium heat to prevent the bottom from burning. Keep stirring until it thickens and reaches a creamy consistency.

Add the syrup to the heated cream a little at a time and let it dissolve

Gradually add the heated syrup to the cream mixture while continuously stirring to blend and dilute it.

Add the egg yolks one at a time and mix well.

Strain the cream through a strainer and transfer to a pourable container

Strain the cream through a sieve and transfer it to a container that is easy to pour from.

Assembly

Place the pastry dough on a floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a rectangle of about 25x35cm (10" x 14"). Position the dough in a vertical orientation.

Using a brush, lightly spread a thin layer of butter over the entire top surface.

Fold over ¼ from the right side and ¼ from the left side as well, and center them together

Fold the dough ¼ from the right side and another ¼ from the left side, aligning them at the center.

Also spread a thin layer of butter on the top surface

Then, lightly spread another thin layer of butter on the top surface.

Roll up the dough from the bottom Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour

Roll the dough up from the bottom side into a tight roll. Once rolled, wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Divide the pastry dough into 12 equal portions. (The cut pieces will be round and swirly in shape.)

Place the cut pieces of dough on a buttered mold, then use the pads of your fingers to gently press and spread the dough to cover the mold evenly. Since the bottom part is harder to bake, slightly thin out the dough on the bottom.

Pour the cream into the mold, filling it up to about 8/10 or 80% of the way.

Bake in a preheated oven at 250°C / 482°F. (with the fan on) for about 8 minutes. Enjoy it while it's still warm and freshly baked!

Want to make an authentic recipe

It may seem a bit challenging as it's different from regular pie dough and custard cream, but after tasting it fresh from the oven, I felt like this is exactly what I had in Portugal - Egg Tart heaven! So, I hope you enjoy the unique crispy texture of the tart crust and the creamy, melt-in-your-mouth filling!

Equipment

The Egg Tart mold is smaller than a muffin mold and slightly deeper than a regular small tart mold. Since I don't make them frequently, I was initially planning to buy disposable aluminum cups, but the reusable ones were more cost-effective, so I went with those.

The disposable ones can be used as a present directly, so choose according to your needs.

Reusable Egg Tart Molds

Disposable Egg Tart Molds

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