Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese Custard Tarts)

Method

1. 1

   Boil sugar with 100ml water, lemon peel and cinnamon to a light syrup.

2. 2

   Whisk flour into milk, cook to thicken, then stream in the syrup; temper into yolks and strain — a loose custard.

   💡 Looser than logic suggests: it sets in the oven and must stay silky beneath the char.

3. 3

   Roll the pastry into a log, slice coins, and press them up muffin-tin walls with wet thumbs.

4. 4

   Fill ¾ and bake at absolute maximum (270°C+ if possible) 11–13 minutes until leopard-spotted.

5. 5

   Eat warm with cinnamon dust and appropriate reverence.