Pasteis de nata

Preparation

Quick puff pastry:

1. The day before (or at least 4 hours ahead of time): Cube the Grand Fermage 82% milk fat baker’s butter into cubes, and place in the freezer.
2. The next day, add the flour, cubed butter, water and salt into a food processor.
3. Pulse quickly; you should still be able to see little pieces of butter.
4. Flour the work surface then roll out the dough into a rectangle.
5. Turn once, and fold the dough into three (letter fold).
6. Rotate the dough so the folds are upright, then repeat the previous step 3 times, allowing the dough to rest for 10 minutes between each turn.
7. Wrap the dough with parchment paper and chill for 25 minutes.
8. Divide into 2 pieces and roll each one out to a thickness of around 4mm. Roll the two flattened sheets into a sausage shape.
9. Cut into sections roughly 1.5cm thick, and flatten them between your index finger and thumb.
10. Set them into greased pastel del nata moulds

Pasteis de nata filling:

1. Zest the lemon.
2. Make a syrup by bringingthe water to a simmer with the sugar, lemon zest and cinnamon stick.
3. Set 3 tbsp. of this mixture aside for finishing the pasteis de nata.
4. Start by mixing the flour with 50g of the milk, then add in the rest.
5. Heat the mixture until it thickens.
6. Filter the syrup, gently drizzle it into the mixture and turn off the heat.
7. Leave to cool, then add in the egg yolks, whisking constantly.

Filling the pasteis de nata:

1. Preheat the oven to 250°C.
2. Fill the pastry cups with the cream filling and bake for 15-16 minutes.
3. While still hot, brush the tops with the reserved syrup.
4. Gently remove from the moulds and set on a wire rack to cool.
5. Serve warm or cold.