Portuguese custard tarts

Name: Portuguese custard tarts
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 27 min
Total time: 42 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Portuguese
Ingredients: 2 tbs Plain Flour; 2 tbs Icing Sugar; 375g Puff Pastry; 250g Caster Sugar; 2 strips Lemon Zest; 1 Stick Cinnamon; 2 Eggs; 4 Egg Yolks; 50g Corn Flour; 500ml Whole Milk; Pod of Vanilla; To serve Cinnamon

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Dessert recipe with Portuguese flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 65 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 42 min total

2 tbs Plain Flour
2 tbs Icing Sugar
375g Puff Pastry
250g Caster Sugar
2 strips Lemon Zest
1 Stick Cinnamon
2 Eggs
4 Egg Yolks
50g Corn Flour
500ml Whole Milk
Pod of Vanilla
To serve Cinnamon

Step-by-step instructions

Roll the pastry Mix the flour and icing sugar, and use this to dust the work surface. Roll the pastry out to make a 45 x 30cm rectangle. Roll up lengthways to create a long sausage shape.
Cutting pastry into rounds Cut the pastry into 24 wheels, about 1-2cm thick.
Roll out each pastry portion Roll each wheel lightly with the rolling pin to fit 2 x 12-hole non-stick fairy cake tins.
Press pastry into the tin Press the pastry circles into the tins and mould into the tins to make thin cases. Chill until needed.
Make the infused syrup Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Make a sugar syrup by bringing the sugar, 200ml water, lemon zest and cinnamon stick to the boil. Reduce until syrupy, allow to cool, then remove the cinnamon and lemon. Whisk the eggs, egg yolks and cornflour until smooth in another large pan.
Making custard Heat the milk and vanilla pod seeds in a separate pan until just below the boil. Gradually pour the hot milk over the eggs and cornflour, then cook on a low heat, continually whisking.
Add syrup to custard Add the cooled sugar syrup to the custard and whisk until thickened slightly.
Pour custard into the tins Pour the custard through a sieve. Pour into the pastry cases and bake for 15 minutes until the pastry is golden and the custard has darkened.
cool and dust with icing sugar Cool completely in the tins then sift over icing sugar and ground cinnamon to serve.

Why this works on a weeknight

Portuguese custard tarts lands at about 42 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Sweet Finishes collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Portuguese custard tarts actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍮 Sweet Finishes Dessert Portuguese