Pastels de Belem/Custard Tarts of Belem

Pasteis de Belem is a highly sought after dessert. The secret recipe of these famous custard tarts of the Belem district of Lisbon is well protected.  Throngs of visitors to the bakery line up to enjoy the luscious custard tarts. If you time it right, you can watch through a window while the pastries are formed.  While I do not have the secret recipe, I have published two versions of the tarts.

The first recipe of Pastels de Belem was taught to me by a baker who learned it in a culinary school in Lisbon. It is given in detail in my first book, Portuguese Home Cooking under the title of Custard Cream Pastries/ Pasteis de Nata.  Its texture and taste is very close to what I enjoyed at the Belem bakery. A shorter second version, in Authentic Portuguese Cooking is made using store bought and a more eggy filling.It is under the name of Custard Tarts Belem Style/ Pasteis de Nata. Check out the step by step recipe in the book.

A third version, of Pastels de Belem, I use homemade quick puff pastry. This is where I grate the butter over the dough instead of forming a block of butter.  The filling calls for a sugar syrup infused with lemon peel and cinnamon stick before being incorporated with other components.   The sauce needs to be cooled down before adding in the eggs.  Home ovens do not get as high as the 600-700 degrees F. used in the bakeries, but this is doable. This is a easy recipe, but it requires attention to detail. Stay tuned for the full recipe.

Feel free to contact me with questions about recipes. ana@portuguesecooking.com