Portuguese Burnt Custard

January 7, 2024

Kory Cheshier

Our Edible Trip in October 2023 was to Portugal, a land of old cobblestone streets, custard tarts and port wine. Ten wonderful Edible readers joined us as we cooked, walked and ate our way from Lisbon to Porto visiting farms, vineyards and Moorish castles.

Pastels de nata, or custard tarts, are the signature sweet of Portugal. We learned how to prepare this Portuguese burnt custard at a cooking class with Chef Hugo Araújo. Resembling crème brûlée, it has a crunchy burnt sugar crust with a creamy custard underneath.

Ingredients

2 cups milk

1 3-inch lemon peel

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 cup sugar

4 teaspoons cornstarch

3 egg yolks

Preparation

1. Combine milk, lemon peel and cinnamon stick. Heat in a saucepan. In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks, whisking well. Slowly add hot milk mixture to sugar mixture, whisk well. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over low heat until mixture thickens. Cool 5 minutes and pour mixture in a shallow gratin dish. Chill. To serve, sprinkle with sugar and burn with a torch until sugar is caramelized. It hardens as it cools.