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FijiFlavors · Lisboa
Pastry made with puff pastry filled with an egg-yolk, milk and sugar custard, eaten hot with cinnamon. Lisbon's official tourism presents it as the city's most emblematic sweet.
Traditional sweet from Lisboa, Lisboa
Also known as: pastéis de nata, pastel de Belém
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Pastel de nata — Lisboa, Portugal
The pastel de nata is a small tart made of puff pastry, thin and crisp, filled with a custard of egg yolks, milk and sugar that is baked until it develops dark spots on top. Despite the name, many recipes do not use cream: the custard is made mainly from eggs and milk. It comes out of the oven with crisp pastry and a soft filling.
Lisbon's official tourism calls it the city's most emblematic sweet and notes that its roots lie in conventual confectionery. The most often-told tradition links the recipe to the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos in Belém. According to that version, after the dissolution of the religious orders in 1834, the recipe passed to a shop opened near the monastery in 1837, which still sells the pastries under the name Pastéis de Belém.
The origin is debated. A confectionery history researcher interviewed by RTP says the pastel de nata was not born in Belém and that the earliest Portuguese versions contained pine nuts. The association with Belém remains strong in the city's memory, and Belém became linked to the conventual recipe.
Pastel de nata is the name of the sweet, made in pastry shops across the country. Pastéis de Belém is the name used by a single shop, with its own recipe kept secret. In Lisbon, the two appear side by side on counters.
The Lisbon way to eat it is with the pastel still hot, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, preferably accompanied by a bica, as espresso is called in the city. It's eaten standing at the counter or seated on a terrace, at any time of day.
Lisboa , Lisboa
Lisbon's official tourism presents the pastel de nata as the city's most emblematic sweet.
Puff pastry; custard of egg yolks, milk, sugar, flour and, depending on the recipe, cream, lemon peel and a cinnamon stick. On top, cinnamon and sugar to taste.
Hot, right after coming out of the oven, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. It is usually accompanied by a bica (espresso). It's eaten with the hands, at the counter or on the terrace.
All year round, at any time: for breakfast, as an afternoon snack or after lunch.
Your questions
Pastel de nata is the name of the sweet, made in pastry shops throughout Portugal. Pastéis de Belém is the name used only by the Belém shop in Lisbon, which has produced them since the 19th century using its own recipe.
Not always. The custard is made mainly from egg yolks, milk and sugar; some recipes add cream, others do not.
Hot, with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top, often accompanied by a bica, Lisbon's espresso.
Flavors of Portugal
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