Pastéis de nata

• 30 g Wheat flour
  Swaps (2)
• 1 tablespoon Butter (for greasing the tin)
  Swaps (2)
• 1 u Lemon (peel only, in strips without the white pith)
  Swaps (1)
• 200 g Sugar
• 6 u Egg Yolks
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon (ground, to serve)
• 1 u Cinnamon Stick
• 1 tablespoon Icing Sugar (to serve) (optional)
  Swaps (1)
• 1 sheet Puff Pastry (rectangular, ideally all-butter)
• 400 ml Whole Milk
  Swaps (2)
• 100 ml Water

Instructions

1. 1

   Unroll the puff pastry and roll it up again tightly from one of the short sides to make a log. Wrap it in cling film and chill while you make the custard.

   5 min

2. 2

   Put the sugar, water, cinnamon stick and lemon peel in a small pan. Bring to the boil and cook for 3 minutes without stirring to make a light syrup.

   5 min

3. 3

   In another pan, whisk the flour into 100 ml of cold milk until smooth. Heat the rest of the milk until almost boiling, pour it over the flour mixture, whisking constantly, and return everything to the heat. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until slightly thickened.

   6 min

4. 4

   Remove the cinnamon and lemon from the syrup and pour it in a thin stream into the milk, whisking. Let the mixture cool until you can dip a finger in without burning yourself, then whisk in the yolks and strain the custard.

   15 min

5. 5

   Preheat the oven to its highest setting (250 to 280 °C). Grease a 12-hole muffin tin. Cut the pastry log into 12 rounds about 2 cm thick and put one in each hole, spiral facing up. With your thumbs dipped in cold water, press it out from the centre and up the sides until it rises slightly above the rim; the base should be thin.

   15 min

6. 6

   Fill each pastry case three-quarters full with custard and bake on the top shelf until the pastry is golden and the custard has scorched spots.

   14 min

7. 7

   Leave them in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and serve warm, dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar.

   10 min