If you go to Portugal, you must try the "Pastel de Nata"
Portugal is certainly rich in culture, beauty, monuments, Cork as we know it, and so many other wonderful things. But one true calling card for Portugal is the "Pastel de Nata" a sweet petite pastry that is globally known and loved.
Did you know Portuguese people have a daily ritual of having an espresso and pastel de nata, at least twice a day? The "pastel de nata" is Portugal's staple pastry, a sweet combination of a custard cream with a crunchy light puff pastry, if you have ever been to Portugal or are thinking of going there, make sure you visit @pasteisdebelem, Portugal's famous bakery for the "pastel de nata". They make a whopping 20,000 pasteis de nata a day, tourists and locals line up and wait as they come out of the oven. They literally melt in your mouth.
Read more about it below and check out their site and instagram page.
The History behind Pasteis de Belem
At the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, in Belém, next to Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (the Heironymite Monastery) there was a sugar cane refinery attached to a small general store. As a result of the 1820 liberal revolution, all convents and monasteries in Portugal were shut down in 1834, the clergy and labourers expelled.
In an attempt at survival, someone from the monastery offered sweet pastries for sale in the shop; pastries that rapidly became known as ‘Pastéis de Belém’.
At that period the area of Belém was considered far from the city of Lisbon and mainly accessed by steam-boats. At the same time, the grandeur of the monastery and the Torre de Belém (the Belém Tower) attracted visitors who soon grew used to savouring the delicious pastries originated in the monastery.
In 1837, the baking of the “Pastéis de Belém”began in the buildings attached to the refinery, following the ancient ‘secret recipe` from the monastery. Passed on and known exclusively to the master confectioners who hand-crafted the pastries in the ‘secret room’, this recipe remained unchanged to the present day.
In fact, the only true ‘Pasteis de Belém’ contrive, by means of a scrupulous selection of ingredients, to offer even today the flavour of the time-honoured Portuguese sweetmaking.