Pastéis de Nata, Porto, Portugal

This picture is from a bakery that we visited on our last morning in Porto.  It was fascinating to watch a whole crew of bakers churn out literally hundreds of these custard tarts, which are the national pastry of Portugal.  They sell for about a Euro each, as does the coffee, so a mid-morning snack is quite affordable.
The original pastry comes from Belém.   As the story goes, in 1837 a confeitaria there began making the original Pastéis de Belém, following an ancient recipe from the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. That secret recipe is a common theme around the making of these tarts, as is the fact that they are impossible to create in a home oven, due to the cooking temperature of 800 degrees.  However, if you are to try this at home, some tips to making spectacular authentic Portuguese custard tarts at home are few and simple. When making the pastry, make sure the butter is evenly layered, all excess flour is removed, and the dough is rolled very thin and folded neatly. This is puff pastry-esque dough.  As for the custard, you’ll need a thermometer to accurately gauge the custard. Once out of the oven, these pastries are best eaten warm the day they’re made.