Yes, I know it’s obvious but what can I do if I am passionate just to pastéis de nata?
I had heard before going to Lisbon and, once arrived there for the first time, I began to see them on display in any window of bakery, bars and cafes in the city and its surroundings. It made me a little ‘reluctant to try them right away because I do not like things too much from the abundant but then I let myself fascinated by their ancient history and gave in to their eye-catching appeal. Since then it is tradition for me to eat a good, let’s say plenty every time I go to Lisbon, a city that I love and where I go back as soon as possible.
It should be noted, however, that the pasteis de nata are born as “Pastéis de Belém” nell’Antiga Confeitaria de Belém, a bakery close to the magnificent monastery of Belem, which is still the only one to call them by their original name because it holds the secret recipe of these cakes, created at the beginning of the nineteenth century by a monaco. In this shop you can still taste the pastéis prepared according to tradition – as long as there be discouraged by the long line of tourists who besiege regularly shop – or you can opt for the version “tarot” (pastéis de nata, in fact), which can be found almost anywhere in the city.
I’ve tasted both of them and I must say that, although the smell of cinnamon that you gently passes through the entrance of Antiga Confeitaria play an important role, I loved pastéis de Belém as well as some pastéis de born prepared in some other pastries. Clearly, as you can imagine, in the large number of places that offer them there are many that prepare them so bad but if you learn to have eye can recognize pasteis best: small, with crisp pastry and color stuffing is not too pale.
Ingredients:
1 roll of puff pastry
4 egg yolks
50 grams of sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
300 ml of milk
butter q.s.
powdered sugar q.s.
cinnamon q.s.
Preparazione:
Put the egg yolks in a saucepan with the sugar, flour, vanilla and mix together. Add the cream and milk. Put to heat on the stove on low heat and continue stirring making thicken the cream.
Roll out the roll of dough and cut discs of a diameter of about 10 cm. Grease and flour the muffin molds and arrange the disks of puff pastry. Diskettes stuffed with cream and fold the excess dough, forming a border.
Bake at 220 ° for about 10-15 minutes.
Once removed from the oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar and cinnamon.
Now enjoy and tell me if it does not pull the other one!
*Cover photo by Caroline
