Pastel de Nata (Portuguese pronunciation: [pɐʃˈtɛɫ dɨ ˈnatɐ]; plural: Pastéis de Nata) or Pastel de Belém ([pɐʃˈtɛɫ dɨ bɨˈlɐ̃ĩ]; plural: Pastéis de Belém) is a type of egg tart found throughout Portugal's pastry shops or cafés.
It is believed that it was created before the 18th century by Catholic Monks at the Jerónimos Monastery[1] (Portuguese: Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) of Belém, in Lisbon.[2] The Casa Pastéis de Belém in Lisbon was the first place outside the convent selling the original creamy dessert, after the monastery was closed in 1820s, and there they are called Pastéis de Belém, after the name of the area and its famous bakery. Since 1837, locals have gone there to get them warm out of the oven and sprinkled with the cinnamon and powdered sugar. These are very popular, with tourists waiting hours for them.[citation needed]
The recipe has, over generations, received some alteration by various pastelarias ("cake shops") and padarias ("bakeries") throughout Portugal. One of these methods includes making the custard in a bain-marie (a bowl over boiling water) rather than combining all the ingredients at once in a saucepan, although some prefer the cream slightly "curdled" to give it a rustic appearance and an unusual texture.
It was the confection chosen to represent Portugal in the Café Europe initiative of the Austrian presidency of the European Union, on Europe Day 2006.
It has since become available at numerous bakeries, as well as Macau-style restaurants and Hong Kong branches of the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain. Portuguese-style egg tarts became popular in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in the late 1990s.
Notes
- ^ Portuguese monasteries developed many sweet recipes based on egg yolks, as egg whites were demanded in large quantities both for starching clothes, such as nun habits, and also in wineries, in the clearing of wines, like Port, that required the use of egg white, thus many egg yolks were left over.
- ^ http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0811/p11s01-trgn.html
External links
- Pastéis de Belém: Hot on the Trail of a Legend from Leite's Culinaria
- There's history - and a secret - in every bite This article outlines the history and popularity of pasteis de nata in Portugal.
 |
This confectionery-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
