Pasteis de nata (Portuguese custard tarts)

Method
Prep:20min  ›  Cook:20min  ›  Ready in:40min 

1. Preheat oven to 190 C / Gas mark 5. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin and line bottom and sides of cups with puff pastry.
2. In a saucepan, combine milk, cornflour, sugar and vanilla. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Place egg yolks in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk 1/2 of the hot milk mixture into egg yolks. Gradually add egg yolk mixture back to remaining milk mixture, whisking constantly. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes, or until thickened. Remove vanilla bean.
3. Fill pastry-lined muffin tin with mixture and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is lightly browned on top

Tip

If you've made a recipe, such as a pavlova, which calls for lots of egg whites and no egg yolks, you can freeze the yolks and then make a yolk-heavy recipe like this later! For best results, lightly beat the yolks first with a generous pinch of sugar for each yolk. Freeze in freezer bags.