Pastéis de Belém

Description: Pastries about 7 cm in diameter, made of puff pastry made with flour, margarine and water, filled with egg cream, made with egg yolks, flour, whole milk, sugar, water, cinnamon and lemon zest. They are cooked and toasted in the oven.

Region: Lisbon and Tagus Valley.

Variations: Pastéis de Nata.

Special feature: Small puff pastry cakes, divided into crispy sheets, with mildly flavored cream.

History: The Pastéis de Belém are so nicknamed because they are the specialty of an old confectionery in this area of Lisbon, the Confeitaria de Belém, Lda. This house was born in 1837, on the edge of the Convent of the Jerónimos Friars, who, according to legend, already manufactured these cakes, although another more recent version of the legend attributes the pastries to the nuns of the Convent of Odivelas. However, nothing is proven, except that all the custard tarts in the country came here to get the recipe. The true recipe of the Pastéis de Belém is, even today, a well-kept secret by the firm's master pastry chefs.

Use: Much appreciated as a treat and consumed at any time of the day.

Know-how: Manual cooking on the production line. The puff pastry is manufactured (some ingredients are the secret of this dough) and spread by hand. Cut off slices with which to line the boxes (using your thumbs to shape them). These are then filled with egg jam, whose approximate recipe is the one in the description. In the first phase, the cream is cooked in a bain-marie, and then placed in a very hot oven (at a temperature of 400 °C), for 15 minutes. They cook until golden brown. They can be sprinkled with powdered sugar and/or cinnamon at the time of eating.

Source: Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses, Lisboa, DGDR, 2001