NECESSARY PREMISE … I have never eaten these pastries the pasteles de Belem or pastel de nata, I have never even seen them except in photos on various blogs or generic images that we all find on the web!!!!!!!!
However, I wanted to try making them in my kitchen, and so today I publish them after tasting them with Andrea last night for dinner!
These are easy pastries to make using ready-made puff pastry. I must say I made a mistake with the molds; they should have a wider bottom and lower height because I used a muffin multi-mold…
These are the molds for this type of pastries → 
I made the cream the day before, and it remained creamy, perfect for filling the puff pastry shell.
I put a little powdered sugar on top of the pasteles de Belem because the “gourmet in my house” hates any kind of sugar (even the sprinkle on doughnuts, for instance) on sweets, and I have to prevent any issues at the table later! I hope you can understand me…
The pasteles de Belem or pastel de nata are Portuguese pastries that can be sprinkled before tasting not only with powdered sugar but also with cinnamon powder … the choice is yours, bye!
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I have opened a channel of recipes open to everyone and free on WhatsApp, no notifications, and no sound, which you can subscribe to by clicking on the link here https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaHbGIn9cDDig7Cw2x0F, and every day you can read a sweet and a savory recipe!
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On the theme of QUICK PASTRIES WITH PUFF PASTRY I leave you more preparations just below:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 24 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Portuguese
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 2 packages puff pastry
- 2 cups milk
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1 slice lemon peel
- as needed butter (for greasing the molds)
Tools
- Pans
- Spatulas
- Spoons
- Food Wraps
FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE PASTELES DE BELEM RECIPE
Over low heat, I heat the milk with the cinnamon stick and the lemon peel, using only the yellow part and excluding the white to avoid bitterness.
In a bowl, I mix the egg yolks with the sugar, add the flour, and when the milk is warm, I pour it over the mix, removing the added aromas (lemon and cinnamon).
I put it back on medium-low heat and always mix with a special spatula, allowing the cream to thicken.
Cover with cling film in contact and let it cool perfectly.
If you have time, it’s advisable to prepare the cream the day before!
Now we proceed to make the containers of puff pastry; after greasing each mold, I roll the puff pastry from the longer side.
Then I cut slices of about 1.38 inches, inserting each disc into the buttered cavity and gently widening the dough with a light finger pressure starting from the center of the mold.
The puff pastry doesn’t need to rise much on the edges; it doesn’t need to be very high!
Once the puff pastry is placed in each mold, I fill them with the now cold and well-set cream, reaching about halfway up the cake… This is what the Spanish blog where I got the recipe from says; personally, as you can see, I might have overdone it!
I bake at 392/428°F for about 20 minutes, considering that the surface should toast and brown very well before stopping the baking in the oven.
Once cooked, the pasteles de Belem or pastel de nata are left to cool, perhaps with the help of a rack, then sprinkled with powdered sugar and a pinch of cinnamon, and… I dive into them!
They are delicious, a real treat!
Have a nice day …. Annalisa
I leave you the collection of Spanish recipes that I published on the blog while waiting to gather those of Portugal!
SOURCE here
Remember that at the top where you see the blog menu, there is a magnifying glass 🔎 that will allow you to find all the preparations with that title or ingredient when you enter an ingredient or a recipe title, and I hope you will read recipes to your liking among them!
