Ever since I returned from my holiday to Lisbon, I’ve been raving about Portugal’s culinary national treasure; Pasteis de Nata (translated as Portuguese Custard Tarts in English). If you’ve never tried them before, take my word for it- they are absolutely dreamy. I could talk forever and a day about these but they’re basically a flaky golden pastry filled with sweet creamy custard, and then usually topped with a sprinkle of icing sugar and cinnamon. Continue reading for my vegan Portuguese Custard tart recipe…
Despite Lisbon having a diverse large range of vegan and veggie eateries, I didn’t manage to find any Vegan Portuguese Custard Tarts whilst I was out there, so naturally I attempted to make them once I returned home!
I can confirm- my attempt to “veganise” these classic treats was successful! I have to admit, I would still need to work on this vegan Portuguese custard tart recipe to make them real contenders to the originals from the Pastéis de Belém bakery I visited in Portugal- but they are still so tasty none the less!
Why I love this vegan Portuguese custard tart recipe:
- Crispy flaky pastry
- Creamy sweet vanilla custard
- Simple to make
- Made with normal ingredients that are just accidentally Vegan- Who knew Jus Rol puff pastry and Bird’s Custard were Vegan???
- Simple to make (less than 30 mins of actual cooking time!)
You can read more on my Vegan Lisbon Travel Guide here!
Vegan Portuguese Custard Tart Recipe
Eating these took me straight back to my trip to Lisbon- except these are vegan! You won't believe how simple these are to make- perfect for a sweet treat with a freshly brewed cuppa!
Ingredients
- 1 pack of Jus-Rol Read Rolled Puff Pastry
- 2 tbsp Bird's custard powder
- 1 tbsp icing sugar
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 450 ml milk alternative I used almond milk
- 2 tsp cornflour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Sunflower oil for greasing
Sprinkle
- Icing sugar
- Cinnamon
Instructions
Custard
-
Preheat oven to 200C
-
Mix the custard powder and both sugar types in a bowl then add around 3 tbsp (of the 450ml) almond milk to form a paste.
-
Heat the remaining milk and vanilla essence in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Just before it starts to boil, pour the heated milk in the bowl containing the custard powder mixture, stir well until smooth
-
Pour the mixture back in the saucepan over a low heat.
-
Put the cornflour in a small cup and a few drops of water to form a thick paste
-
Pour the cornflour paste in the pan (containing the custard) and allow the mixture to thicken whilst stirring continuously.
-
Pour the custard in a bowl, and once cooled slightly, leave in the fridge to cool completely
Tarts
-
Grease a muffin tin with oil
-
Roll out the pastry so its flat, then tightly roll in the long side again. Cut into halves and then divide the halves again. Finally cut each into thirds (to get 12 small rolls).
-
Stand each roll up and flatten them by pressing on the top with your fingers/palm.
-
Add them to a muffin tin and push up on the sides so you get little baskets.
-
Sprinkle a little cinnamon on them
-
Once the custard has completely cooled, take it out from the fridge and pour it in the pastry baskets to fill them (it might look really thick but it's ok as it will melt in the oven)
-
Bake in the oven for 20 mins
-
Once cooled completely sieve some icing sugar and sprinkle over the top of them along with some cinnamon
-
ENJOY! -Try to not eat them all at once!
Recipe Notes
Make sure the custard has completely cooled before pouring into the pastry.
For a more 'authentic' look you could add a drop of yellow food colouring/or a TINY BIT of turmeric (just for colour not for taste) to the custard to make them look more 'eggy' but that's completely up to you!
Comment below if you try out this vegan recipe- trust me, you won’t be disappointed with these!
Andri x
Thanks Andri! these were so crispy and light, everybody enjoyed them
I used to make the standard non vegan version of these but not made them since my son became vegan 2 years ago. These were lovely, you wouldn’t have known they were vegan, they were demolished very quickly by my boys.
Author
So glad you enjoyed them!
When you say to add the sugar to the Custard powder do you mean both the brown sugar AND icing sugar?
Author
yeah both sugars x
Just wondering why the extra corn flour stage?A c powder is mostly corn flour anyway, couldn’t you just use less milk to custard powder to end up with a thicker custard? Then the recipe would be even easier.
Author
Hi Mel,
I just found that I preferred the texture with the corn flour added, but yes I guess you could just add less milk.
Andri x
Do you have any thoughts on an alternative for Gluten Free pastry? I often look at Vegan recipes because they don’t use dairy or eggs (I am sensitive to those as well as gluten and some other things)
Author
hey, sorry I’m not sure if there’s any gluten free pastry- maybe check on jus-rol’s website? x
Jus roll also make a GF ready rolled puff pastry
Author
Oooh interesting thanks for the info!
What about the 1tsp vanilla essence?
Author
Hi Pri, Apologies I missed this out! The vanilla goes in with the remaining milk when you are heating it for the custard.
I’ve amended the recipe 🙂
Hi Andri,
Is pre-heating the oven to 200C for a fan oven or should I reduce it to 190C ?
Thanks.
Author
Hi Nick,
I used a fan oven- hope this helps!
Hello 🙂 thanks for the recipe! Do you know how long these will keep in the fridge please?
Author
I would recommend 2-3 days 🙂