Breakfast in Lisbon.
Recipe of Pasteis de Belem.I tasted Pasteis de Belém in an authentic bakery in Lisbon near the Jeronimos Monastery, where the recipe of this delicious pastry appeared.
Recipe of traditional Pasteis de belem. Simplified with a frozen puff pastry.
You will need:
- 0.5 liter whole milk
- 150g white sugar
- 50g wheat flour
- 6 egg yolks
- 600 puff pastry
- Lemon peel of half a lemon
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Oil to grease the molds (I use olive oil spray)
- Metal molds (not very big)
Dough preparation:
Let’s start by preparing the dough, as it should rest before adding the filling into it. Roll the dough and cut into pieces about 3 cm.
Lubricate the molds with oil and place a piece of dough in it. We adjust the dough so that it takes the shape of a container (the thinner the dough, the tastier it will be, and it will cook faster). Poke holes in the bottom with a fork. Leave the molds for 20 minutes.
Filling preparation:
Separate about 100 ml of milk and add flour. Mix well with a whisk (or fork) to leave the mix without lumps.
In a saucepan heat the remaining milk with the lemon peel (without the white part, you can easily separate the peel with a vegetable peeler) and a cinnamon stick. When milk starts boiling, remove the lemon peel and the cinnamon stick.
Start adding gradually add the mix of flour and milk, while stirring constantly, until the mass thickens.
Gradually add sugar to the mix, while stirring constantly.
When we get a very homogeneous mass, turn off the heat and let it brew for 10 minutes. During this time, the mix will thicken a little.
Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Lightly beat the yolks in a bowl.
Combine the yolks with the milk mix. Mix well until a homogeneous cream of an intense egg color is obtained. Desired consistency is a semi-liquid pastry cream.
Preparation and decoration:
Preheat the oven to 220º C. Place the molds on a baking sheet, fill in with the cream, leaving some space between the edge so that the cream does not spill out.
Place the baking sheet on the central level of the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes at 220ºС, until the cream has got the brown color. It´s absolutely normal if the cream rises a lot during baking, then it will sink again.
Take the pastries out and let them cool down a bit. Pasteis can be eaten hot or cold as you like. I like them warm. The pasteis can be decorated with powdered sugar or cinnamon before serving.
My Pasteis de Belem were delicious, although it would be better to add less dough to the mold to get thinner pastries.
Bom apetite!
