Place a 14 by 16 inch baking stone below and another one above the muffin pan in which you will be baking your Portuguese custard tarts. The good news is that a simple mod is all that's required. You won't get that from your kitchen oven without a modification. The secret to proper browning is high and sufficient radiating heat. Even if it beeps telling you it's ready, it's not. Preheat your oven for no less than 1 hour. Aluminum or copper conduct heat better too. You should not put non-stick cookware in an oven hotter than 500F as non-stick coating releases harmful chemicals at high temperatures. They look pretty though, and are easy to clean, if that's your thing. Stainless steel muffin pans are not my favorite as they don't conduct heat as well as copper or carbon steel. Carbon steel pans are great too, they heat very quickly, but require high maintenance due being prone to rusting. Aluminum ones, like this Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Muffin Pan, won't break the bank will do the job very well. Copper ones are hard to find and are super expensive. Custard begins to set at around 160F - 165F and begins to curdle if heated past 175F. If the temperature gets even a few degrees higher than specified it may ruin the custard beyond saving. ThermoWorks Super-Fast Thermapen or Lavatools Instant Read Meat and Food Thermometer, to quickly and precisely measure custard temperature. Use an accurate and fast instant read thermometer, e.g. When laminating your dough make sure the butter is evenly layered, all excess flour and air pockets are removed, and the dough is rolled very thin and folded neatly. Tips for crispy, flaky, and very nicely browned pastry for Portuguese custard tartsįollow these tips and you will have one heck of a dessert and eternal respect and love from your friends and family. Larger size custard tarts also require longer baking time which helps with browning. This makes it a bit easier to finish the recipe as you only have to make two batches instead of three. I also chose to use a regular size muffin pan (cups about 2.5" by 1.5") instead of a mini muffin pan. I made powdered sugar and cinnamon optional as I think the pastry is sweet enough on its own. While there are many other good recipes for Portuguese custard tarts out there, I chose this one based on predominantly positive feedback.Īs usual, I made a few adjustments to suite my taste. This recipe for the Portuguese custard tarts comes from David Leite's of Leite’s Culinaria who sourced it from Antiga Confeitaria de Belém in Lisbon, Portugal. The solution, as was the case with making French caneles that I described in my Perfecting Canele Recipe and Technique post, was high heat plus a quick modification to the oven (no worries, you don't need to take your cooker apart). After many trials I can say yes, you can get them to brown and look like real authentic Portuguese custard tarts. Almost every recipe I've tried warns you upfront that your tarts may not (read will not) brown as much as on the pictures they attach. The eternal problem is making them crispy and beautifully browned in the home kitchen oven. If you've ever made those, this recipe should be a piece of cake for you. Making them at home is no more difficult than making croissants or custard based ice cream. If you've ever tried authentic, traditional Portuguese custard tarts you know they are heavenly and in the league of their own.
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