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Please Fave the original Here

A new recipe from the lovely ! (Translated from Spanish)

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Ingredients:

1 liter of whole milk.
500 g. white sugar.
100 g. wheat flour.
12 egg yolks.
600 g. puff pastry (2 rectangular plates of 300 g.)
The skin of half a lemon.
1 cinnamon stick.
Butter to spread the molds.
Metal molds: small and low if possible.

Preparation of the dough for the Belem cakes:

We start with the puff pastry because we need it to rest for a while inside the molds before adding the filling. With each layer of puff pastry (which must be rectangular) we will do the same process: roll the dough making a roller or cylinder. Cut portions of about 3 cm. Butter the molds and place a cylinder in the center of each one. The molds I have used are egg flan type, in Spain it will be difficult to find them equal to the Portugal but as you can see in the photos they serve. Aluminum foil molds may be the most similar. Little by little we adapt the dough so that it takes the shape of the mold, from the center outwards, leaving the edge a little fatter. We also prick the base of the dough with a fork. Let it sit for about 20 minutes.

Preparation of the cream to fill the cakes of Belem:

Separate about 200 ml of the milk in a cup and add the flour. Beat well with a fork, so that it is diluted. There should be no lumps so we can even give it a touch of blender. Set aside. In a casserole, heat the milk along with the lemon peel (without the white part, so that it does not bitter) and the cinnamon stick, so they infuse and add flavor. When the milk begins to boil, add little by little the mixture of flour and milk without stopping stirring. When it boils again, remove the lemon peel and cinnamon stick. Now add the sugar, again little by little, at the same time that we stir continuously. When we obtain a very homogeneous mass, turn off the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes. During this time it will thicken a little. Separate the whites from the yolks of a dozen eggs. We keep the egg whites as they can be used for other preparations such as an omelette. Make whipped egg whites or some other dessert such as the white bica of Laza (Ourense). In a bowl or cup lightly beat the yolks and incorporate them by passing them through a strainer to the rest of the ingredients. Mix well until you get a smooth and homogeneous cream, with an intense egg color. The desired texture is that of a semi-liquid pastry cream.

Baking and final presentation of Belem cakes:

Preheat the oven 5 minutes to 220º C (total heat function). Place the molds on the baking tray, pass the cream to a jar and fill the tarts without reaching the edge of the dough. We leave a little margin so that the cream does not overflow. Place the tray in the central part and bake 15-20 minutes at 220º C. Until we see that the cream is golden/toasted. Each oven is a different world so be aware of the temperature. Do not worry if you see that the cream rises a lot while baking. It is normal and then it will be lowered staying at its optimum point. After the time, remove and let temper a little before tasting them. When it comes to eating them, they can be enjoyed both hot and cold, depending on your tastes. It is typical to sprinkle them with icing sugar or cinnamon just before tasting them.

I particularly like to eat them as they are served at the Belem Factory, tempered and then sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon powder on top.