Vegan Portuguese Custard Tarts

Ever since I returned from my holiday to Lisbon, I’ve been raving about Portugal’s culinary national treasure; Pasteis de Nata (translated as Portuguese Custard Tarts in English). If you’ve never tried them before, take my word for it- they are absolutely dreamy. I could talk forever and a day about these but they’re basically a flaky golden pastry filled with sweet creamy custard, and then usually topped with a sprinkle of icing sugar and cinnamon. Continue reading for my vegan Portuguese Custard tart recipe…

Despite Lisbon having a diverse large range of vegan and veggie eateries, I didn’t manage to find any Vegan Portuguese Custard Tarts whilst I was out there, so naturally I attempted to make them once I returned home!

I can confirm- my attempt to “veganise” these classic treats was successful! I have to admit, I would still need to work on this vegan Portuguese custard tart recipe to make them real contenders to the originals from the Pastéis de Belém bakery I visited in Portugal- but they are still so tasty none the less!

Why I love this vegan Portuguese custard tart recipe:

• Crispy flaky pastry
• Creamy sweet vanilla custard
• Simple to make
• Made with normal ingredients that are just accidentally Vegan- Who knew Jus Rol puff pastry and Bird’s Custard were Vegan???
• Simple to make (less than 30 mins of actual cooking time!)

You can read more on my Vegan Lisbon Travel Guide here!

Course Dessert
Cuisine Vegan
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Cooling time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 12 tarts
Ingredients

• 1 pack of Jus-Rol Read Rolled Puff Pastry
• 2 tbsp Bird’s custard powder
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 450 ml milk alternative I used almond milk
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Sunflower oil for greasing

Sprinkle

• Icing sugar
• Cinnamon

Instructions
Custard
1.Preheat oven to 200C
2.Mix the custard powder and both sugar types in a bowl then add around 3 tbsp (of the 450ml) almond milk to form a paste.

3.Heat the remaining milk and vanilla essence in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Just before it starts to boil, pour the heated milk in the bowl containing the custard powder mixture, stir well until smooth

4.Pour the mixture back in the saucepan over a low heat.
5.Put the cornflour in a small cup and a few drops of water to form a thick paste
6.Pour the cornflour paste in the pan (containing the custard) and allow the mixture to thicken whilst stirring continuously.

7.Pour the custard in a bowl, and once cooled slightly, leave in the fridge to cool completely
Tarts
1.Grease a muffin tin with oil
2.Roll out the pastry so its flat, then tightly roll in the long side again. Cut into halves and then divide the halves again. Finally cut each into thirds (to get 12 small rolls).

3.Stand each roll up and flatten them by pressing on the top with your fingers/palm.
4.Add them to a muffin tin and push up on the sides so you get little baskets.

5.Sprinkle a little cinnamon on them
6.Once the custard has completely cooled, take it out from the fridge and pour it in the pastry baskets to fill them (it might look really thick but it’s ok as it will melt in the oven)

7.Bake in the oven for 20 mins

8.Once cooled completely sieve some icing sugar and sprinkle over the top of them along with some cinnamon
9.ENJOY! -Try to not eat them all at once!

Recipe Notes
Make sure the custard has completely cooled before pouring into the pastry.

For a more ‘authentic’ look you could add a drop of yellow food colouring/or a TINY BIT of turmeric (just for colour not for taste) to the custard to make them look more ‘eggy’ but that’s completely up to you!

Comment below if you try out this vegan recipe- trust me, you won’t be disappointed with these!