Pastel de nata

Pastel de nata is a small custard tart in a thin, flaky pastry shell, baked hot enough to blister and darken on top — Portugal's best-known sweet and a fixture of every pastelaria counter.

What it really is

The pastry is rolled thin, coiled into a tight spiral and pressed into individual moulds, closer to puff pastry than shortcrust. It is filled with a custard of egg yolks, milk, sugar and a little flour, sometimes scented with cinnamon and lemon zest, then baked briefly at very high heat — hot enough that the custard blisters and browns in dark patches while the pastry underneath stays crisp.

The recipe is said to trace back to Lisbon's Jerónimos Monastery, where monks used egg yolks left over from starching habits with egg white. After Portugal's monasteries closed in 1834, the recipe passed to a nearby sugar refinery, which still bakes it today as pastel de Belém — the one name reserved by law to that bakery. Everywhere else, the tart is simply pastel de nata.

How it is served

• Warm or at room temperature, never straight from the fridge.
• Dusted with cinnamon and/or icing sugar at the table, not baked in.
• Eaten by hand in two or three bites, usually alongside a coffee.

How to write it on the menu

• Say it is baked hot and fast — the dark, blistered top is correct, not burnt.
• Mention the pastry is flaky and laminated, not a shortcrust base.
• Note it is best fresh and warm; one made hours earlier is a different dessert.

The ingredients, allergens and dietary notes listed here describe a typical recipe. They are not a binding declaration for any particular restaurant: recipes, portion sizes and the products used can differ.