I’ve always loved these custard tarts ever since they were huuuge years back and I suppose still are. I came across a recipe by Bill Granger via a friend and it seems pretty true to actual Portuguese custard tarts which pleases me no end. These are my finicky fat phobic Father’s steadfast favourite. In fact, I give him a dozen for his birthday, Father’s Day and Christmas and he absolutely refuses to share them with my mother so I should probably make some extra for her.
I halve the pastry amount that Bill puts in his recipe in an effort to make them more healthy. This may sound delusional but I’ve calculated that if you make it with skim milk or a half skim/half full fat milk it still tastes absolutely delicious and they’re about 120 cals each which is something of a miracle. In fact I’ve never made these with cream as the recipe says which I’m sure is heavenly but milk is great as the egg count thickens it considerably.
Portuguese tarts
Servings: Makes 12
Level of difficulty: Intermediate
Preparation Time: 25 minutes, plus cooling time and 5 minutes standing
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks (I prefer 2 egg yolks and 1 whole egg)
- 115g caster sugar
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 230ml Cream (I don’t use cream, I use milk)
- 170ml Milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (I use Queen Vanilla Bean Paste)
- 300g rolled puff pastry (I use one sheet of puff pastry)
Method
1. Lightly grease a 12-hole 80ml muffin tray.
2. Put the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a pan and whisk together. Gradually whisk in the cream and milk until smooth.
3. Place the pan over a medium heat and cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Transfer the custard to a bowl, cover the surface with cling film to prevent a skin forming and leave to cool.
4. Preheat the oven to 200C.
5. Cut the pastry dough sheet in half, put one half on top of the other and set aside for 5 minutes. Roll up the pastry tightly from the short end and cut the pastry log into 12 x 1cm rounds. Lay each pastry round on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll out until each is 10cm in diameter.
6. Press the pastry rounds into the muffin tin. Spoon the cooled custard into the pastry cases and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry and custard are golden. Leave the tarts in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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54 Comments | Add your own
These tarts look delish! I must to try make these sometime
I first made these ages ago when you first mentioned them and became quite addicted! I really must make some again soon – i feel another period of addiction coming on!
daddy can be selfish sometimes!
gorgeous. i like the blue ribbon touch
Hi Kathy-Thanks! They’re definitely worth the effort. If you want to make them super fresh or ahead of time, you can always do the custard first and pop that in the fridge a day or two before and just do the pastry on the day
Hi Nic-Yes if I recall correctly you followed the recipe more faithfully than me, I can’t help but meddle I’m afraid
Hi blythe-he sure can be but only really with his tarts and random foods!
Hi Tian-thanks! I love adding ribbon to a gift, it makes it look so much more special. And I love collecting cute/unusual ribbon too
I had a go at making these and they were fantastic! I was curious about how to prepare the pastry using the full quantity?
Hi Pat-that’s great! Everyone that has tried this recipe ends up loving them. I think that if you used the full quantity of pastry then you would just sit all four half sheets on top of each other and then roll them. It might be quite thick and hard to roll into a symmetrical log so perhaps when its softer it may be easier to manipulate but since pastry cooks well when its cold, after moudling into a log and slicing then pop it in the fridge for half an hour? Good luck!
I also love to make Portuguese tarts and follow Bill Granger’s recipe, however the last few batches seem to have turned out quite oily ie oil swimming on top of the custard. The only thing I think I am doing differently is maybe using a bit more cream in the custard. Could that result in an oily mixture? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Kate-I haven’t really encountered that with the oil floating on top as I don’t use cream in them at all but I think that sometimes custard gets a layer of oil on top if there is too much butter used and cream is like butter so perhaps that is it?
I made these sometime ago, but lost the recipe.
I like your personal adjustments and meddling is fun (only when it works). However I do cut the pastry differently. When I first made these I found that pastry has be placed in one piece in each of the cupcake tin so I found a suitable round utensil, place it on pastry and cut around it. Once done, I cut a slit half way in the circle, then place in the cupcake tin. The slits help the pastry sit nicely in the container.
Hi Rozanne-Yes I love meddling and tinkering too. Ahhh ok, yes I can see how that would produce a more even, professional looking pastry. Mine is a little errrm rustic
I made these with some lime juice and zest for Christmas and they were a refreshing alternative!
Hi, I was buying these from a little old portuguese lady but found our addiction was too expensive to keep buying – hence I found your recipe BUT my pastry doesn’t stay nice and crisp – it goes all soft after a very short time even in an airtight container after cooling – what am I doing wrong?
Hi Ann-It is an expensive addition if you’re buying them from the store indeed! I wonder if a paper bag instead of an airtight container would help absorb some of the moisture? Also I think puff pastry with some sugar in it crisps up a bit more due to the sugar syrup but I’m guessing there. Or even try keeping one of those moisture sachets, not touching any of the food, in the container would help absorb the moisture?
Hi I just watched this ep on the Food channel and searched the net for a recipe – thus I found yours. Bill used only 2 sheets of pastry on top of each other also. Not sure where you got the idea that it was 4…? Anyway, glad I found your site, looks like we are neighbours too
Hi Deb-I think you might be mistaken I didn’t state that it was 4 sheets. His recipe is for 300g of puff pastry which is 2 sheets, not 4.
In any case, welcome
Hi NQN,
I make these tart last night, they taste great, but they don’t brown on top like those you make, why is that? Do you sprinkle sugar on top?
Please advise me as i really LOVES these tart.
Cheers.
Hi Dorcas-Hmmm perhaps your oven temperature is slightly lower than it should be (ovens usually are a bit off, mine is hotter than it says it is). Perhaps try turning it up 10 degrees and baking it on the top rack
Hi NQN,
I adore these tarts and love the fact that you have made them a little less guilty by reducing the calorie count!A bit puzzled by the recipe – where you say that you dont use cream. Have you substituted the cream for an equal qnty of milk and hence used 400 ml of milk or have you used 170ml of milk?Thanks so much
Hi Manasi-Thanks! I don’t think they suffer at all with the modifications
Yep I substituted the cream for milk so I used 400ml of milk.
The portuguese name for these tarts is Pastel de nata which means tarts of cream. If you go to portugal go to the bakery and buy them fresh in the morning…so yummy! Yours look really nice too!
Hi Maisie-I would love to be able to buy these in Portugal. I bet they’d be heavenly! Thankyou very much
I saw Bill Granger cook these on ‘Bills Food’. They are divine. The only difference was he added a piece of lemon rind to the custard mix while cooking to give that extra flavour. Yum.
Hi Catherine-That would be great, a friend has also used lime zest too. Oh and if you’re a Bill Granger fan stay tuned!
Thanks for sharing the recipe Lorraine and taking the photos to help make understanding the recipe a bit easier! I had a go at making them on Mother’s Day and they were a hit!
My post is here: http://myfoodtrail.blogspot.com/2009/05/recipe-portuguese-custard-tarts.html
Hi Rilsta-They look fantastic! Thanks so much for letting me know!
This was absolutely fantastic. Just ate 2, trying to hold myself back from eating more. Awesome recipe. Thanks heaps.
Hi tanya-Fantastic! I like Bill Granger’s recipes, they’re usually so reliable!
Hello,
I saw your recipe loved the idea of it and tried making it myself twice but it was an utter fail!
Everything seems fine up until i put it into the oven. First time I though I put in too much custard but the second time when I used less it still didn’t work. The top never gets to a point where there’s brown spots like yours the custard just spilts….has this ever happened to you?
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3330/3577077771_60ec5ccd9d_o.jpg
Hi Emily-Hmmm it sounds like your oven isn’t quite getting as hot as it needs to (some ovens vary quite a bit). If you have an oven thermometer that should be able to give you your oven’s temperature. Try putting them on the top rack too (the hottest). To be honest that’s never happened to me so these are just suggestions
Thanks for the suggestion, I think your are right. It’s the most frustrating thing when after spending ages on something the final result isn’t as expected! Kepp up the great blogging.
Hi Emily-I know, it’s terrible when you spend a lot of time making something and it doesn’t work out
If you also want to perhaps raise the temperature by 10 degrees or so (and are you using a fan forced oven too? I do as that helps). Best of luck!
Hi – I just made these for the first time & they are delicious! Even managed to get the burnt tops
Just one question though – I found that when rolling the pastry, the sheets didn’t stick together (ie the ends were uneven). Do you roll the two sheets together lightly first before rolling them up?
Hi Bella-Wonderful! That’s great to hear
Hmm My ends were slightly uneven but the pastry did adhere together somewhat. Perhaps they need to be slightly warmer (or colder)? I used Pampas puff pastry if that helps 
Wow, as a new baker, I am getting so much more confident and thought I would give these ago. They were an instant hit. Great and clear instructions. The next day, the pastry seemed a bit stringy and difficult to bite off. Not sure if I put them in the container while they were still warm. Thanks for sharing the recipe
Hi Sue-That’s wonderful! I’m so glad that you gave these a go and they worked out for you! I always find that they’re never quite as good the next day as pastry is always better the day that it is baked
You’re welcome!
Hi,
I just need to clarify the type of cream is it single or double fat cream. If using milk did you use full, semi skimmed or fully skimmed
Thanks for your advice.
Hi Cindy-I use single cream and full fat milk. If I use double cream or skim milk I’d usually say.
Being from Portugal I’ve eaten these my whole life. They taste amazing while they are still warm and with a bit of powdered sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on top.
Planning to make these tarts today and need to clarify the amount of pastry used. Are you using only 150g of the 300g listed in the recipe? Also, it says you don’t use cream but use milk instead…so that’s a total of 400ml of milk and no cream at all? Thanks from Susan in Scotland
Hi Cristina-You are very lucky to have them so closeby!
Hi Susan-Yes that’s correct on both counts! Enjoy the tarts
Love portugese food and there little fellows look delicious!
The Portuguese custard tarts were a triumphant climax to our 10th anniversary meal. Olga is already planning when to make them again. Had the one that was left over with my breakfast café con leche – a great start to the day. Gracias mil.
Thanks for the recipe! I have made for my office coworkers a few times and they are always in demand. A coworker is lactose intolerant so I made a batch with regular “so good” Soy milk and found they tasted the exact same as with milk only.
I have been looking forever for this recipe. Thank you ,Love it
Almost 2 years since you posted these, and i am feeling the need to make them yet again. I think they may be the first thing baked in my new oven!!
Hi, great recipe, I’m not much of a cook but they worked a treat! The pics are a big help. Only prob is my puff pastry didn’t do much puffing! Probably serves me right for using Coles Own Brand !!
These look so delicious! I’ve always been fascinated by the look of Portuguese tarts and thought perhaps they got that browned look via the use of a blowtorch or something…now I know it’s so much more simple:P I’m definitely cooking these before the weekend and will blog about the result. I love your blog so much!!
Hi!
These look fantastic. I looove Portuguese custard tarts. I want to make them for my mum’s 60th birthday in 2 days and was wondering how far ahead I can make them (if you know)? They’ll be served in the evening. Will the night before be too early? Or can I possibly prepare the custard the night before and then quickly bake them in the morning?
Also, I was thinking, if i have trouble getting the burn spots, would it be possible to use a cooking blowtorch thingy?
I’d love your input.
lorraine i tried my first portugese tart yesterday from sweet belem in petersham and i loved it – came straight here to find your recipe on it – thank you! im going to try and make these on the weekend :O)
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