This is one of the most recognizable Portuguese pastry : Pastel de Nata I make these every single day at work, and since people always ask about them, I wanted to share a bit of the history and the process behind them. Their story actually started as a solution for laundry back in the day. Before the eighteenth century, Catholic monks and nuns in Lisbon used massive amounts of egg whites to starch their religious clothing. They ended up with tons of leftover egg yolks, so they started baking sweet treats to avoid waste, which is how this custard tart was born. When the monasteries closed down in the eighteen-thirties, the monks sold the recipe to a sugar refinery, and that is how they became famous worldwide. As a baker, getting these right every morning is all about mastering textures and extreme heat. A real Portuguese pastel de nata is completely different from other egg tarts because of the pastry and the oven temperature. We use a heavily laminated puff pastry that creates a spiral at the bottom of the tin. When it bakes, it becomes incredibly thin and shatters when you bite into it. The secret to that signature blistered, burnt look on top is our factory oven. We blast these at around four hundred degrees Celsius, which is roughly seven hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit, for just a few minutes. That intense heat puffs the pastry to maximum crispiness and caramelizes the sugar on top before the velvety custard has a chance to curdle or split. It is hard work but seeing a tray like this come out of the oven makes it completely worth it. So, I would strongly recommend experimenting this pastry when you visit Portugal. Find first a decent bakery 😉   submitted by   /u/Additional-Stick7539 [link]   [comments]