Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese Custard Tarts)

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This recipe is my childhood, except without all the sugar and wheat flour! I spent my whole life eating these at every important occasion as well as having batches made for school events. This is based off my grandmother’s recipe, which is THE BEST!

If you’ve only ever eaten shop bought Portuguese Custard Tarts then get ready, because these will not taste like any tart you’ve ever had. I have had the shop bought ones and I always spit them out, that’s how gross they tasted to me. My grandmother’s recipe tastes completely different, see for yourself!

This is my new revised version for Portuguese Custard Tarts as I wasn’t 100% happy with the old one. This one tastes EXACTLY like my grandmother’s recipe, I finally nailed it completely!

 

Keto Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese custard tarts) – Makes approximately 24

 

300mL cream

450mL water

½ tsp pink salt

75g powdered sweetener

3 tbsp coconut flour

1/2 lemon, the peel, cut in 3 or 4 big pieces

3 egg yolks, lightly beaten

3 tsp vanilla essence or extract

1 ¼ – 1 ½ tsp xanthan gum

2 quantities Fathead made with coconut flour, get the recipe here

2 tbsp powdered sweetener

butter for greasing

 

Add cream, water, salt, 75g sweetener, coconut flour and lemon peel to a large pot and whisk over a low heat until combined. Let it come to a simmer whisking frequently.

Dribble in the egg yolks a tiny bit at a time while whisking constantly to incorporate. Let cool for about an hour. Remove pieces of lemon peel and whisk in vanilla essence. While the custard cools off you can make the pastry for later.

Make your pastry according to recipe and adding 1 tbsp sweetener to each batch and roll into a rough rectangle. Don’t make it super thin. Use a mug upside down to cut circle shapes out of the pastry. You can then gather together excess pastry, reheat in the microwave (about 20 seconds) and then roll out again to cut more circles. The two quantities of pastry will be more than enough, I had some pastry left over which I cut into smaller bits and baked to use as crackers for my cheese.

Lightly grease silicone muffin trays with melted butter and place pastry circles in. Push pastry down to shape into a little tart case. Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork and blind bake at 180C for 8 – 10 minutes. Set aside until the custard is ready.

For this next part I strongly recommend using the whisk attachment of a stick mixer or similar, because you will have a LOT of whisking and incorporating to do. Take a tsp at a time of the xanthan gum and sprinkle TINY amounts into the custard, whisking well with the stick mixer after each little bit is added.

The xanthan gum needs to be whisked in very well or it doesn’t thicken properly like it should. My arm lost feeling the first time with all this whisking and the thickness still wasn’t quite right, which is why you need a stick mixer! After all or most of the xanthan gum is incorporated the custard should have a nice thickness and a bit of elasticity to it.

Add a large spoonful of the custard into each pastry case. It will look like a large amount but the custard will flatten as it cooks and set in the oven. Bake at 180C for 18-20 mins until custard is set and caramelised on top.

Remove from oven and let cool almost completely in the muffin trays. The custard will sink and set as it cools, similar to a cheesecake. If you take the tarts out too soon, the custard will spill over the sides of the pastry. Once nearly completely cooled, remove gently to a wire rack to finish cooling. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

 

Nutritional Info:

Cals – 210.8

Fat – 19.8g

Protein – 5.2g

Total Carbs – 3.8g

Fibre – 1.5g

Sugars – 1.8g

Net Carbs – 2.3g

*If counting sweeteners add 4.3g carbs