When we opened BoBo, we knew we just had to have Pastel de Nata on everyday, all day! Creamy, warm, flakey, custardy, the perfect little pick me up!
Essentially, a cream custard tart, Pasteis de nata were created before the 18th century by Catholic monks at the Hieronymites Monastery in the civil parish of Saint Mary of Bethlehem, in Lisbon.
At the time, convents and monasteries used large quantities of egg-whites for starching clothes, such as friars and nuns’ religious habits. It was quite common for monasteries and convents to use the leftover egg yolks to make cakes and pastries, resulting in the proliferation of sweet pastry recipes throughout the country.
In the aftermath of the Liberal Revolution of 1820, following the dissolution of religious orders and in the face of the impending closure of many convents and monasteries, the monks started selling pasteis de nata at a nearby sugar refinery to bring in revenue. In 1834, the monastery was closed and the recipe sold to the sugar refinery, whose owners in 1837 opened the Fabrica de Pasteis de Belem. The descendants own the business to this day.
Usually the tart is sprinkled with canela (cinnamon), and often accompanied with a bica (a strong espresso coffee).
