Recipes

Portuguese Custard Tarts

Renowned for their distinctively flaky crust and decadently sweet rich custard filling, Portuguese custard tarts are celebrated for their unparalleled deliciousness. Notably, their hallmark caramelised top is achieved through a precise balance of higher temperature and shorter baking time, adding an irresistible allure to every bite.

Ingredients

Yield: 12 portions

Dough:

120 g Golden Cloud Cake Flour
¼ tsp Salt
80 ml Cold water
115 g Butter, fully softened, divided

Filling:

270 g White sugar
80 ml Water
1 Cinnamon stick
1 Lemon peel only, cut into strips (optional)
6 Egg yolks (large sized eggs)
5 ml Vanilla extract
50 g Golden Cloud Cake Flour
2,5 ml Salt
305 ml Whole milk
30 g Cinnamon for dusting on top.

Optional icing sugar for dusting on top, optional

Method

Dough: Combine flour, salt, and cold water in a bowl. In a standing mixers with a dough hook attachment mix until dough just comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Dough should be sticky.
Knead for 1 to 2 minutes more to form a round. Cover and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove dough from mixer and roll dough into a square about 0,5 cm thick, dusting with flour as necessary; dough should still be sticky.
Spread 1/3 of the butter over 2/3 of the square using a silicone spatula, leaving a 1 cm border. Flip the unbuttered side over the middle of the square and fold the opposite end over it like a letter. Straighten the edges as needed.
Turn dough with a bench scraper to unstick it from the counter; dust with flour. Flip and sprinkle more flour on top. Roll dough into a 0,5 cm thick rectangle, carefully stretching edges as needed. Spread another 1/3 of the butter over 2/3 of the dough. Fold into thirds. Transfer onto a lined baking sheet and freeze until butter is slightly chilled, about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle dough with flour and roll into a square a little over 0,5 cm thick. Spread remaining butter over the dough, leaving a 1 cm border on the top edge. Dip your finger in water and lightly moisten the unbuttered edge. Roll dough into a log starting from the bottom edge. Dust with more flour and polish the ends as needed. Seal with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
Preheat your oven to 290°C. Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin.
For the syrup: In a medium sized saucepan, bring to a boil the sugar, water, vanilla extract, lemon peel , and cinnamon stick.
Cook until a thermometer reads a temperature of 100°C. Do not stir the mixture.
In another medium sized saucepan whisk the milk, flour and salt together until evenly combined. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for about 5 minutes or until well combined and the milk is thickened. Take off the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
Once cooled, whisk in the egg yolks. Then remove the cinnamon stick from the sugar syrup and add the syrup to the milk. Mix until everything is well combined. Optional: strain through a sieve to remove any lumps.
Unroll the pastry and fold in half into a rectangle. Gently roll the pastry to press the two layers together. From the short end of the rectangle tightly roll the sheet into a log.
Cut the log into 12 even pieces. Use your hands to flatten each piece and then roll them out as thin as possible into a circle.
Place a piece of rolled pastry into each of the 12 cups of the muffin tin. Press the pastry against the edges of the muffin tin to create the tart shells.
Fill each pastry cup 3/4 of the way full with the custard.
Bake the tarts until the custard starts to caramelize and blister and the pastry turns golden brown, approximately 10-12 minutes.
Serve warm, with powdered sugar and ground cinnamon (both optional, but delicious).