sunflower custards

i was craving the portuguese custard, pasteis de nata, and i thought, why not try to make them on my own? they came out well, but not as good as the ones i had in belém. still, they were very fun to make and they came out really cute. the first batch, i made with store-bought filo dough, which was a really interesting process not understanding the recipe's instruction on how to place the layers of dough into the baking tin. to my surprise, they came out really well and fancy looking. i wish i had pictures to post, but I had to pack them quickly for a birthday party. they were light and crispy, a pretty golden yellow. i think the puff pastry could have been more buttery in flavor, but the egg custard filling i nailed, not too eggy, sweet, but not too sweet and complimented with a hint of vanilla.   

 

wanting to get the shell right, i tried a second batch. i looked up more recipes on the shell and tried it with--this time with a mix of whole wheat flour, cold water, tad of salt and chilled diced butter mixed in. they came really beautifully and chewy, and look like adorable flowers. still, not the texture i remeebered. perhaps, i just need to return to portgual to taste the real thing..

 

 

note: this photo was taken at work on my imac. i brought some of the second batch to share with my officemates, my beloved taste-testers :)