Pastel de Belém: the ultimate pastel de nata

The pastel de Belém is in a league of its own, and it really does not compare to an ordinary pastel de nata. Had Plato taken an interest in pastry, he would have found his ideal form here, with every other custard tart a pale shadow of it. Fortunately for us, the archetype is available in this world, warm, and in quantity.

The recipe

Along with caldo verde, the pastel de Belém is one of the seven wonders of Portuguese gastronomy. The recipe was created by the monks of the Jerónimos Monastery, just down the street from the bakery that still makes it: the Fábrica dos Pastéis de Belém, where the same family has been following the original since 1837.

Five generations on, the recipe is still a secret, and around 20,000 of them come out of the oven every day. If it had not already been perfect, it would certainly have been perfected by now.

Visiting the Pastéis de Belém bakery

The Fábrica dos Pastéis de Belém sits by the mouth of the Tagus, in the Lisbon parish of Belém. This is where the Portuguese set sail for India and the Orient in the fifteenth century.

It shares its view with the yellow trams that come to mind whenever I think of Lisbon, with the Belém Tower, built to mark the Age of Discovery, and with the five-hundred-year-old Jerónimos Monastery, where Vasco da Gama spent his last night before sailing east.

Now, the practical advice. Ignore the queue running out of the door. Walk straight in, past several rooms, until you reach the last and largest one, which opens onto a hidden terrace at the back. From there you can ask for a table in that room, which is usually quick, or go out to the terrace if you would rather sit outside.

Once you have a table, treat yourself properly. Order uma bica, the Portuguese espresso, and a glass of sweet Port. Then order several pastéis de Belém, warm, dusted with cinnamon. Sit back, let your taste buds get on with it, and let your eyes wander over the blue and white tiles on the walls.

Whether or not you make it to the Fábrica dos Pastéis de Belém, we would like to hear how you get on. Leave a comment below, or share your photos with us. Thanks for reading.