TRYING Portuguese Dessert for the First Time! (Pastel De Nata)- Sweet Success or Custard Catastrophe

We decided to try making pastel de nata at home after visiting a Portuguese bakery in Edmonton. Many viewers from Portugal commented that the ones we tried weren’t proper and needed to be homemade. Since we have a special love for these custard tarts and are on a mission to find the best ones, we thought we’d have a go at making our own.

We’re using a recipe we found online since we’ve never made these before. We gathered ingredients like vanilla extract, cinnamon sticks, sugar, eggs, flour, milk, butter, and salt. We had to make do with a hand mixer instead of a proper KitchenAid since we’ve sold most of our equipment for our move to Portugal.

Key Takeaways

• We attempted to make traditional pastel de nata at home using an online recipe after feedback that bakery versions weren’t authentic

• The process involved making flaky pastry dough and custard filling with basic ingredients like flour, eggs, milk, and cinnamon

• We adapted the recipe to work with limited equipment whilst preparing for our move to Portugal

Why We’re Making Pastel de Nata

Moving to Portugal Inspired Us

We made a video about visiting a Portuguese bakery in Edmonton. This was part of getting ready for our big move to Portugal. We wanted to try different Portuguese treats before we left.

The video turned out really well. We got to taste lots of traditional foods. It felt like good preparation for our new life in Portugal.

Comments from Portuguese Viewers

After we posted the bakery video, we received loads of comments from people in Portugal. They had strong opinions about what we tried at the Edmonton bakery.

Many viewers told us the pastéis weren’t authentic. They said the ones we tasted weren’t how they’re supposed to be made. People kept saying they need to be homemade to be proper.

These comments really got us thinking. We realised we needed to try making them ourselves.

Our Search for the Real Thing

I’ve always had a special place in my heart for pastel de nata. I’m on a mission to find the best one possible. Making our own seemed like the next logical step.

We’ve never attempted this before. We’re using a recipe we found online since we’re complete beginners. We have no idea how this will turn out.

What we’re hoping for:

• People will share their family recipes in the comments

• We’ll learn the proper way to make them

• Someone will tell us if we’re already going wrong with our ingredients

We’ve had to sell most of our kitchen equipment because we’re moving to Portugal. This means we’re doing everything by hand instead of using proper mixers. We’re making do with what we have left.

Preparing the Essential Components for Homemade Pastel de Nata

Essential Components Required

For creating these delicious Portuguese custard tarts, we’ll need to gather two sets of ingredients. The first set is for the pastry base, and the second is for the custard filling.

For the Pastry:

• 2 cups plain flour

• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

• Lots of butter

• Water as needed

For the Custard Filling:

• 3 tablespoons plain flour

• 1 cup plus 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 1 cup full-fat milk

• Eggs

• Vanilla extract

• 2 cups water

The amount of sugar might seem quite substantial, but this is what gives the custard its proper sweetness. We found that using full-fat milk is important for achieving the right texture and richness.

Alternative Equipment Options

Since we’ve moved house and don’t have all our usual kitchen equipment, we’ve had to get creative with what we use. The recipe originally calls for a KitchenAid mixer, but we’re making do without one.

Equipment We’re Using Instead:

• Hand mixer instead of a stand mixer

• Fish slice spatula in place of a pastry scraper

• Smaller mixing bowl rather than a large stand mixer bowl

• Cling film for covering the dough

• Regular saucepan for heating the milk and sugar mixture

We discovered that making the pastry by hand takes considerably longer than the 30 seconds mentioned in recipes that use electric mixers. Expect to spend several minutes mixing by hand to achieve that soft, pillowy dough texture.

The fish slice spatula works reasonably well for shaping the dough, though it’s not as precise as a proper pastry scraper. We generously flour our work surface to prevent sticking, which is crucial when working with this type of pastry dough.

Making the Pastry

Combining the Dough by Hand

We don’t have a KitchenAid mixer, so we’re doing this the old-fashioned way with a hand mixer. Start by measuring out two cups of plain flour into your biggest bowl. Add a quarter teaspoon of fine sea salt to the flour.

We need to mix these ingredients until a soft, pillowy dough forms. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl. This takes about 30 seconds with a proper mixer, but it’ll take longer by hand.

Warning: The mixture might flick out of the bowl if you’re using a small one. Don’t worry if it gets messy – that’s part of the process!

Creating the Perfect Flaky Layers

Once your dough is mixed, it’s time to shape it properly. Generously flour your work surface – and we mean generously. Don’t just sprinkle it on.

Pat the dough into a 6-inch square using your hands. You don’t need fancy equipment like a pastry scraper, though it would help. A fish slice or spatula can work if you have one.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Pat the dough, don’t roll it

• Keep the shape as square as possible

• Dust the top with more flour

• Make sure it’s about 6 inches across

The flour prevents sticking and helps create those lovely flaky layers we’re after.

Resting and Shaping the Dough

Cover your shaped dough with cling film and let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Don’t put it in a bowl – just leave it on the counter covered with the plastic wrap.

Set a timer for exactly 15 minutes. This resting time is crucial for the dough to relax and become easier to work with later.

StepTimeActionMix dough30 secondsCombine until pillowyShape2-3 minutesPat into 6-inch squareRest15 minutesCover with cling film

While the dough rests, you can prepare the other components of your pastéis de nata. The timing works out perfectly for getting everything ready.

Making the Custard Filling

Combining and Measuring Ingredients

We start by getting our custard ingredients ready. First, we measure out three tablespoons of flour into a bowl. It’s important to keep the measurements level when we’re adding each spoonful.

Next, we add one and a third cups of sugar to the mixture. This might seem like quite a lot of sugar, but it’s what gives the custard that lovely sweet taste we’re after.

We need to whisk these dry ingredients together until they’re completely smooth. Make sure there aren’t any lumps before we move on to the next step.

Adding Cinnamon and Vanilla Flavours

We add one cinnamon stick to our mixture along with two cups of water. The cinnamon stick will give our custard that warm, spicy flavour that makes it so special.

When we put the cinnamon stick in, we can smell that lovely aroma straight away. It really makes a difference to the final taste.

We also need to add one cup of milk to bring everything together. The recipe tells us not to stir at this point, which is quite important to follow.

Getting a Smooth Custard Texture

The mixture needs to be heated until it reaches 220 degrees Fahrenheit (or 104 degrees Celsius). We use a thermometer to check the temperature.

We bring the mixture to a boil first, then continue cooking until we reach that target temperature. This ensures our custard will have the right consistency.

It’s crucial that we don’t stir during the heating process, even though it might feel natural to do so. The recipe specifically mentions this step, so we follow it exactly.

Putting It All Together and Cooking

Joining the Pastry and Custard

Now we need to put our pastry and custard together. After our dough rested for 15 minutes, we roll it out carefully. The pastry needs to be thin enough to work with but strong enough to hold the custard.

We cut the pastry into circles that fit our tart tins. Each piece goes into the tin and we press it down gently. The edges should come up the sides a bit.

Next comes the custard filling. We pour it into each pastry case but don’t fill them right to the top. The custard will puff up when it cooks.

Heat Settings and Baking Duration

We set our oven to a high temperature. The pastéis need really hot heat to get that lovely golden top and flaky pastry.

Oven Temperature: Very hot (around 220°C or higher if your oven goes that high)

Cooking Time:

• First 10-15 minutes at high heat

• Watch them carefully after this point

• Total time is usually 15-20 minutes

We don’t have a proper Portuguese oven, so we’re making do with what we’ve got. The key is getting them hot enough to create those beautiful burnt spots on top.

Checking When They’re Ready

We know our pastéis are done when we can see the tops turning golden brown. They should have lovely dark spots across the surface.

The custard should be set but still have a slight wobble in the centre. If it’s too runny, they need more time. If it’s completely firm, we might have cooked them a bit too long.

What to Look For:

• Golden brown tops with darker spots

• Flaky pastry that looks crisp

• Set custard that barely jiggles

The smell is amazing when they’re ready. That sweet custard and buttery pastry combination fills the whole kitchen. We can’t wait to see how close we got to the real thing!

Our First Attempt at Making Them

We decided to tackle making pastel de natas from scratch. This was completely new territory for us since we’d never attempted this before.

Our ingredient list:

• 2 cups plain flour

• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 3 tablespoons plain flour (for custard)

• 1 1/3 cups sugar

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 1 cup milk

• Vanilla extract

• Eggs

We started with the pastry dough. The recipe called for a KitchenAid mixer, but we didn’t have one since we’d sold most of our kitchen equipment. We used a hand mixer instead and mixed everything by hand.

The dough was supposed to form a soft, pillowy texture that pulls away from the bowl sides after 30 seconds of mixing. With our hand mixer, it took much longer than that. We had to finish mixing by hand to get the right consistency.

Making the pastry base:

1. We generously floured our work surface

2. Patted the dough into a 6-inch square

3. Covered it with cling film

4. Let it rest for 15 minutes at room temperature

Whilst the dough rested, we started on the custard filling. We mixed 3 tablespoons of flour with some liquid until smooth. Then we prepared the sugar syrup with 1 1/3 cups sugar, 1 cinnamon stick, and water.

The recipe specifically said not to stir the sugar mixture whilst it cooked. We had to bring it to a boil and cook it until it reached 220°F (104°C). The cinnamon stick made the whole kitchen smell lovely.

We added 1 cup of milk to the mixture and brought it back to the boil. The process felt much more complicated than we expected, especially without proper equipment like a pastry scraper or candy thermometer.

Getting Our Viewers Involved

Sharing Recipes from Your Family

We would love to hear from you! Please share your family recipes in the comments below. We’ll try to recreate them in future videos.

Many of you told us the bakery versions weren’t proper. You said they need to be homemade. That’s why we’re making our own today.

We want your help:

• Share your secret family recipes

• Tell us your ingredient lists

• Let us know if we’re doing something wrong

The recipe we’re using today is just one we found online. We’ve never done this before. Your family recipes would be much better than what we found on the internet.

Giving Us Your Baking Advice

We need all the tips you can give us! Drop your advice in the comments as we go along.

Tell us about:

• The perfect ingredients list

• Proper techniques we should use

• What we’re doing wrong already

Some of you are probably thinking our ingredients are wrong. That’s fine! We want to know. Give us your tips so we can improve.

One person in the comments already said to sprinkle cinnamon on top. We’re going to try that. Keep the suggestions coming!

We’re learning as we go:

• We don’t have all the right equipment

• We’re doing things by hand

• We sold most of our kitchen stuff before moving

This will either turn out great or be really entertaining. Either way, your help makes it better.

Thoughts Before Moving to Portugal

We decided to try making pastel de nata at home after visiting a Portuguese bakery in Edmonton. The bakery video got loads of comments from people in Portugal. Many said the pastries weren’t proper or authentic. They told us the real ones need to be homemade.

We’ve never made these before, but we thought we’d give it a go. I have a special place in my heart for pastel de nata. I’m on a mission to find the best one, so making our own seemed like the next step.

Our ingredient list:

• Vanilla extract

• Cinnamon sticks

• Sugar

• Eggs

• Plain flour

• Full-fat milk

• Fine sea salt

• Butter

• Water

We just found this recipe online since we don’t have a family recipe. We’d love for people to share their secret family recipes in the comments. We’ll try to recreate those too.

The recipe called for a KitchenAid mixer, but we don’t have one. We’ve sold most of our kitchen equipment because we’re moving to Portugal. We had to use a hand mixer instead. We’re doing this the old-fashioned way, which should be interesting.

We started with the pastry first. The recipe said to mix two cups of flour with a quarter teaspoon of sea salt. We had to use two eighth-tablespoon measures because someone keeps taking our measuring spoons. The mixture needed to become a soft, pillowy dough that pulls away from the bowl sides.

Making the pastry:

1. Mix flour and salt for 30 seconds

2. Pat dough into a 6-inch square on a floured surface

3. Cover with cling film

4. Rest at room temperature for 15 minutes

We didn’t have a pastry scraper, so we had to improvise. The recipe said to generously flour the work surface. We covered the dough with cling film and set a timer for 15 minutes.

While the pastry rested, we started the custard filling. We mixed three tablespoons of flour until smooth. Then we added one and a third cups of sugar with one cinnamon stick. That’s quite a lot of sugar, but no wonder they taste so good.

The recipe said not to stir the mixture at certain points. We had to bring it to a boil and cook until it reached 220 degrees. We added one cup of milk and brought it back to the boil.

This whole process felt like we were making play dough at times. We had no idea how many pastries this would make, but we figured we’d find out as we went along.