Portal Nauta Hogar Recipes

PORTUGUESE CUSTARD TARTS (QUEIJADAS DE NATA)

Steps:

• Make a little volcano in the middle of the flour.
• Slowly add water to the centre and mix slowly with a fork or your (clean) fingers while you pour. If you pour too quickly, the water will spill over the flour, so mix a little and pour a little.
• Knead/work the dough with your hand. Just like kneading dough for bread. Do this for about 5 minutes.
• Make a little ball. note: It shouldn't stick to your hands at this point.
• Dust some flour on the top and bottom of the dough ball and cover with a dry towel.
• Let the dough rest for 20 to 30 minutes minutes.
• In a medium bowl, cut the stick of butter in small pieces and add the 2 pinches of salt.
• Use a fork to mash the butter until smooth and soft (should look like very soft vanilla ice cream).
• Dust (lightly sprinkle) a clean large surface with flour.
• Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a long thin even-shaped rectangle. Dust with flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin or surface. Flip the dough over a few times to roll both sides evenly.
• Using a spatula, butter knife or your fingers, spread a thin layer of butter on the flat dough.
• Lightly mark a line at one and two thirds of the length of the dough. Basically, you're trying to divide the length in three equal part.
• Fold the dough from the right, towards the left to the second line (two thirds of the way across).
• Fold the dough from the left to reach the right edge (close it like a book). Your dough should resemble a small rectangle. The dough should be thin.
• Dust a baking sheet with flour, place the dough on the baking sheet and dust the top with more flour.
• Cover the dough with parchment paper and place it in the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Clean the surface where you rolled the dough before and dust with flour again.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on the dusted surface. Point the open edges away from and towards you.
• Dust the top of the dough with flour.
• Repeat the last 10 steps twice (starting at using the rolling pin to roll the dough into a long thin even-shaped rectangle).
• Once the dough comes out of the fridge for the fourth time, roll it out into a large rectangle like previously, only this time you will carefully and evenly roll the length of the dough into a tight long tube shape. Note: don't try to do this fast!
• Trim the edges with a sharp knife for a nice even cut.
• Cut the dough "tube" in half.
• Wrap one half with cling wrap and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes (wrap and place the other half in the freezer. it lasts about 6 months. You only need half the dough for this recipe.
• Cut the dough into 16 equal size wheels, about 3/4 inch or just under 2 cm.
• Have a bowl of cold water handy.
• Dip your fingers in cold water so the dough doesn't stick to your fingers.
• Place a round piece of dough on the bottom of the tin.
• Start pressing/pushing the dough circle into the bottom and up the sides all around the tin.
• This process will take a bit of time. At the end, you should have a thin layer at the bottom and covering the sides to the edge. The bottom should be thin but not ripped.
• Repeat the last three steps until you've used all of the dough.
• Place all the covered tins on the baking sheet and place the baking sheet in the fridge.
• Preheat the oven to 550 °F. Our oven's regular temperature only goes to 500 °F, but I can also set it to 500 °F on convection which is equivalent to 550 °F on the regular setting. It's very important to use a hot oven. This will ensure the tops come out toasty.
• Pour the water, sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest in a medium bowl and heat on medium high.
• Once it reaches a slow boil, keep cooking for about 4 minutes or until you've achieved a syrup (can coat the back of a spoon and drips slowly). If you have a candy thermomter, the temp. should be 100 °C or 212 °F. Set aside off the stove (discard the lemon zest and cinnamon stick).
• Place the flour in a medium bowl and pour about 1/4 cup of cream over the flour.
• Pour the rest of the cream into a sauce pot and heat on medium high.
• Whisk the flour and cream until smooth.
• Once the cream starts to boil, pour it over the flour/cream mixture and keep whisking.
• Measure 1 cup of the syrup mixture and add it to the cream mixture, whisk together. (discard the rest of the syrup or use it in a drink).
• Add a spoonful or two of the custard mixture to the egg yolks and whisk to avoid turning them to scrambled eggs.
• Add the egg yolk mixture over the custard mixture and whisk well.
• Remove the baking sheet with the tins from the fridge.
• Pour the custard mixture into each of the tins to about 3/4 of the height of the dough. Discard the rest of the custard mix. There shouldn't be much left.
• Carefully place the baking sheet in the hot oven on the middle rack and bake for 10 minutes.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the tarts cool for about 15 minutes. They'll look puffy when they come out of the oven, but will then drop a little. This is normal.
• Enjoy your homemade Portuguese custard tarts with a little cinnamon, plain, warm or cool!An espresso is a perfect match for these tarts!

PASTéIS DE NATA

Steps:

• To make the puff pastry, put the flour into a mound on a work counter. Put 1 ¼ cups plus 2 teaspoons (320 ml or 11 fl. oz.) water into a jug or measuring cup and season with a pinch of salt. Make a small well in the middle of the flour and pour in the water. Start mixing the flour into the water to form a smooth dough, then cover with a dish towel and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
• Divide the butter into three equal portions of 1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (160 g or 5 ¾ oz.). Lay a large piece of plastic wrap on a work counter. Cut the first portion of butter into thin slices and lay these on the food wrap in a 20-cm or 8-inch square. Put a second piece of plastic wrap on top of the butter and use a rolling pin to flatten the butter into a thin 20-cm or 8-inch square sheet. Repeat with the remaining two portions of butter so that you have three sheets of butter. The butter needs to be cool but pliable when added to the dough, so chill the sheets and remove each one from the fridge only 5 minutes before using it.
• Roll the dough out on a floured work counter into a 21-cm or 8 ½-inch square. Put a sheet of butter in the center of the dough, leaving a 5-mm or ¼-inch border. Fold the dough and butter in half by folding the top half down, then fold in half again by folding from left to right. Roll out into another 21-cm or 8 ½-inch square, then transfer to a baking sheet, cover and rest in the fridge for 25 minutes. Repeat with the remaining two sheets of butter. Rest the dough each time you add the butter.
• When you have used up all the butter, roll the dough into a rectangle 32 x 20-cm or 13 x 8-inches. Roll the dough tightly into a cylinder, starting from the long edge. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
• If using ready-made puff pastry, roll the pastry out to a rectangle 32 x 20-cm or 13 x 8-inches. Roll the pastry tightly into a cylinder, cover and rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
• To make the filling, put the sugar into a saucepan with 1 ⅓ cups (320 ml or 11 fl. oz.) water and heat over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat to medium and boil for 8-10 minutes until it reaches 241ºF on a thermometer.
• Meanwhile, put the cornstarch, egg yolks, milk, vanilla bean and seeds, and lemon rind into a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Once the sugar has reached temperature, remove the pan from the heat and whisk the syrup into the milk mixture. Mix well, then pour the mixture back into the pan and put over a low heat and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until it thickens. Remove and discard the lemon rind and vanilla pod, then strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl and leave to cool. Cover and chill until needed.
• Using a sharp knife, cut slices from the dough cylinder, about 5-mm or ¼-inch thick, making a downwards cut and not slicing. Each portion should be about 25 g or 1 oz., but this will depend on the size of your pans or pan.
• Have a bowl of cold water nearby. Arrange all the cake pans on several baking sheets and keep them in the fridge. One at a time, place a circle of pastry in the bottom of each pan, making sure the layers of butter are seen when viewed from above. This ensures the pastry will rise outwards and upwards as it bakes. Wet your thumb in the cold water and press the dough towards the outer edge of the pan, filling up to the rim. Repeat with all the pans, then put them back in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 475 F°.
• Fill the lined pans with the filling, almost to the top. Bake in the oven for 13-15 minutes, or until the filling is almost set with browned spots on the top and the dough is crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and dust with confectioners' sugar and ground cinnamon. Serve warm or cold. These tarts are best eaten on the day they are made.