Portuguese Egg Tartwith homemade puff pastry
Portuguese egg tart with homemade spiral puff pastry and egg yolk cream: learn the folding, shaping in molds, and baking at a very hot oven temperature.
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The laminated crust and cream with toasted spots characterize the Portuguese egg tart. The dough is rolled before being cut, creating a spiral that opens when pressed into molds. The filling receives a sugar syrup and goes into the oven while still fluid; high temperature browns the top while the interior remains creamy.
Ingredients
Dough and cream
Puff pastry
Dough
Cream
Preparation
Make the dough
Mix 230 g flour, salt, and 140 ml water. Work until smooth dough forms, without over-kneading. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
15 minutesLaminate in three stages
Use the reserved 10 g flour to roll out a 20 by 35 cm rectangle. Spread one-third of the butter over two-thirds of the dough, fold the clean part over the center, then cover with the other end. Rotate 90 degrees and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Roll out and repeat with another third of the butter; refrigerate another 20 minutes.
25 minutesForm the spiral
Roll out another rectangle, spread the remaining butter leaving 1 cm free on the final edge, and roll tightly along the short side into a cylinder. Wrap and refrigerate for 90 minutes.
10 minutesPrepare the cream
Dissolve 25 g flour in 80 ml milk. Heat remaining milk with the vanilla pod and seeds and incorporate into the mixture; cook stirring for 2 minutes to thicken. Separately, boil sugar and 100 ml water until 104 °C. Pour syrup slowly into the cream, stirring. Remove the pod, cool until lukewarm, and incorporate the yolks. Strain.
15 minutesShape in molds
Preheat oven to 260 °C for at least 25 minutes. Cut the cylinder into 12 discs. Place each disc with the spiral facing up in a metal tart or muffin mold and press from the center to the edges with slightly wet thumbs; keep the base thin and the edge slightly higher. Divide the cream up to three-quarters height.
15 minutesBake and unmold
Bake in the upper part of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until edges are well browned and cream is firm with small toasted spots. Watch closely in the final minutes to avoid burning. Wait 10 minutes and carefully unmold.
20 minutes
Substitutions
Metal muffin molds work but change size and baking time. Heavy cream does not directly substitute milk in this recipe.
Storage
Refrigerate in a closed container after cooling. The crust is best on the day; briefly reheat in the oven.
Approximate shelf life: Up to 2 days refrigerated at 4 °C or below.
Nutrition values are estimates and may vary by brand, substitution and actual yield.
Frequently asked questions
How to recognize the correct dough consistency?
If the butter starts to escape or the dough becomes sticky, stop rolling and refrigerate; keeping layers separate produces the puff pastry.
How to store after preparation?
Refrigerate in a closed container after cooling. The crust is best on the day; briefly reheat in the oven. Up to 2 days refrigerated at 4 °C or below.
