Pastéis de Belém
Belém's 1837 speciality of laminated pastry and egg custard.
- Origin
- Belém · Lisbon
- Region
- Belém · Lisbon
- Season
- Year-round
Pastéis de Belém are individual tarts roughly 7 centimetres wide, made by the historic Belém confectionery. A shell of finely laminated crisp pastry holds a mild custard of yolks, milk, sugar, flour, water, cinnamon and lemon, while the exact formula remains secret.
The dough is spread and thumb-pressed into moulds by hand, filled and baked in an extremely hot oven until the custard is golden with toasted patches. They are eaten warm, plain or dusted at the table with icing sugar and cinnamon.
- wheat flour
- margarine
- water
- egg yolks
- whole milk
- sugar
- cinnamon
- lemon zest
Very crisp pastry, mild egg-and-milk custard, caramelised top and optional cinnamon aroma.
Pastel de nata names the nationwide family; Pastéis de Belém identifies the speciality made by the historic Belém house.
At the Pastéis de Belém confectionery beside the Jerónimos Monastery, ideally fresh from the oven.
Espresso, cinnamon and icing sugar.
The Antiga Confeitaria de Belém opened in 1837 beside the Jerónimos Monastery. Tradition associates the tart's origin with the monastery's religious community, though DGADR stresses that this narrative is unproven. What distinguishes the entity is the house's continuous production and a recipe guarded by its pastry masters.
Sources: tradicional.dgadr.gov.pt
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