Portugal has a clear sweet tooth! While walking along most city streets, you can see lots of bakeries and pastry shops with plenty of cakes, bread, custards, and other delights.
However, while visiting Lisbon, there is one sweet in particular that must be tried: the Pastel de nata.
It is a custard tart, a crispy pastry which forms a case for the soft, sweet, custardy filling, optionally dusted with cinnamon.
Origin
The recipe for this little tart dates back over 300 years to Belém, west of Lisbon, and more specifically to the Jerónimos Monastery. In fact, Pastéis de nata were first created by the monks and they were not meant to be sold.
At that time, the Monastery was a busy civil parish where, in the absence of laundry detergent, nuns and monks used egg whites to starch their clothes.
But this process left aside lots of egg yolks! So to avoid the huge waste, they were instead used as a major ingredient in desserts. And this is how monks created the first Pastéis de nata.
When the need for an income erupted in the monastery, the monks decided to start selling the tarts.
In 1834, the monastery eventually closed and the recipe was sold to the eventual owners of the Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém, which opened in 1837 and is still the most popular place to buy them around Lisbon.
Today Pastel de Nata is sold all across Portugal, but for the original recipe you have to go to Belém, the place where it all began. These tarts are in fact also known simply as Pastéis de Belém!
The shop is located a short three-minute walk from the Jerónimos Monastery and it is famous not only for the quality of their Pastéis de nata, but also for the very big line you have to attend if you want to enter!
What exactly is a Pastel de nata?
They look like a cross between a custard tart and a cake, but Pastéis de nata are egg tart pastries.
The outside is crispy and flaky while the inside is creamy and sweet.
Each region of Portugal and each baker has their own ways of adjusting the original recipe, but the egg filling and flaky crust is the desired outcome from everyone.
There is a secret behind Pastéis de Belém’s success which is… still a secret, however.
If you liked this article, you may also like the one of Migliaccio.
Referencies
Nina Santos. 2022. A Brief Introduction to Pastel De Nata, Portuguese Custard Tarts. [ONLINE] Available at: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/portugal/lisbon/articles/a-brief-introduction-to-pastel-de-nata-portuguese-custard-tarts/. [Accessed 18 March 2022].
Real Word. 2022. The story behind the Pastel de Nata, Portugal’s iconic custard tarts. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.trafalgar.com/real-word/pastel-de-nata-portugal-custard-tart/. [Accessed 18 March 2022].
written by Giulia Battisti
Giulia holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Languages for translating and interpretation and a Master’s Degree in Digital Marketing and Global Markets. She is now combining the two careers as a Communication Trainee in the Terminology Coordination Unit of the European Parliament.