Go Back
+ servings

Portuguese Egg Tarts

Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time30 minutes
Resting Time3 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 20 tarts

Ingredients

For the pastry dough:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter unsalted, softened

For the custard:

  • 1⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • cup water
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • cup whole milk divided
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

For the pastry dough:

  • Add salt, water, and flour to the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a dough hook. Mix until the dough comes together into a bowl. This will take a minute or two. Remove from bowl and wrap in plastic. Let it sit for 30 minutes to rest the gluten.
  • Cover clean counter with about 1/4 cup of flour. Roll rolling pin in flour to lightly coat it. Unwrap dough and place into flour. Roll out into a 12-inch square, rotating it 90 degrees occasionally so it doesn't stick to the counter. Place softened butter in a small bowl and stir together to make it smoother. Using an offset spatula, gently spread ⅓ of the butter over the left two-thirds of the square, leaving the right third of the dough clean. Fold the clean third over the middle, like a letter. Fold the left third over the center, as well.
  • Rotate the dough 90 degrees counterclockwise so that the top edge is open. Roll out into a 12x12 square again and repeat butter and folding process again. Finally, roll into a 14x12 rectangle with the horizontal edges the longest. Add the rest of the butter to the entire sheet of dough. Starting at the bottom edge, tightly roll up the dough into a log, using a bench scraper to release any stuck dough from the counter. if the dough rips, don't worry! Just seal it back as you roll the dough. After the log is formed, trim the edges to make them clean and then cut log in half. You should have two 6 inch logs. Wrap each in plastic and chill for at least 3 hours.
  • Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Prepare the custard recipe below and let it sit while we form the cups. Remove one dough log from the fridge and cut into 10 evenly sliced rounds. Grab 3 rounds and place the rest in the fridge. Place one round in a cup of a muffin tin, cut size up. Using your thumb, press down in the center of the cut round and slowly push against the edge to form a cup. Push dough up the edges at least half way, making the cups as thin as possible without tearing a whole in the dough. The edges should be thicker than the bottom. Repeat with the 2 other rounds. Then, grab 3 more rounds from the fridge and repeat with those. Finally, grab the remaining 4 rounds and repeat. Save the other log for batch number 2.
  • Grab the bowl of custard and discard the cinnamon stick. Fill each cup with custard about 3/4 full. Do not fill to the top! Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the edges are deep golden brown and the tops are set. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before removing from muffin tins. Cool completely before eating. Dust with a little cinnamon and serve.
  • Repeat process for batch 2 of the dough and fill with the rest of the custard. You may have some custard leftover, which you can discard.

For the custard:

  • Add sugar, water, and cinnamon stick to a medium sauce pan and stir together. Place over medium heat and do not stir. Remove from heat once it reaches a boil. The sugar should be dissolved and the consistency should be a syrup. Set aside to cool slightly.
  • Add 3 tablespoons flour to a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of milk and whisk until smooth. Add in egg yolks and whisk together. Place the remaining milk over low heat to scald it but not bowl. Slowly add scalded milk to egg yolk mixture about a couple tablespoons at a time, as to not scramble the yolks. Slowly whisk in the slightly cooled sugar syrup with the cinnamon stick (we'll discard later). Finally, finish off the custard with vanilla extract and salt. The custard will be thin.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit