Maria, my Portuguese housekeeper at the time, came by the day before we were set to travel and surprised us with a bon voyage gift: a batch of delightful Portuguese Milk Tarts. It was a hectic day, so we didn’t get around to tasting them until the next morning, just before heading to the airport. One bite was all it took. Standing there with our coats on, we devoured every last one. They were absolutely delicious. The memory stayed with me so vividly that I asked Maria for the recipe as soon as we returned home.
Tip : The eggs should be room temperature and the milk and butter should be warm, but not hot. Fill the muffin tins as soon as the batter has been mixed as the batter tends to separate.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 3 whole eggs
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- powdered sugar for dusting
Makes: 10 x 14inch rectangle, 3inch height
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients before starting the recipe.
- Preheat to
375 °F. - Combine 1 3/4 cups sugar and 3 whole eggs in a mixing bowl and mix well with a hand mixer.
- Warm 2 1/2 cups milk and 2 tbsp unsalted butter in microwave safe dish and heat on high until butter melts, about 1 1/2 minutes.
- Add 3/4 cup all-purpose flour to sugar and eggs and mix until combined.
- Add warm milk and butter to flour mixture, mix until blended and smooth.
- Spray each mini muffin tin with vegetable spray.
- Pour batter into a 2 cup measuring cup, the batter should be on the thinner side, thinner than pancake batter. Fill mini muffin tins about 3/4 full from the measuring cup.
- Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes, check the bottom to see if it has browned. The top does not need to be brown but the edges should be browning.
- Allow tarts to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then carefully remove from pan. Dust with powdered sugar.
I’ve tried several recipes for Portuguese MIlk Tarts and this is the best. Very creamy texture and actually come out of the muffin tins more easily than the others. I didn’t have any spray pan coating, so used a light coating of Crisco.
Hello Karen,
Tried and true! There’s really nothing like an authentic recipe. I’m not an expert baker myself, but I had the same experience as you, and I would encourage other non-bakers to give it a try. It’s one of those recipes that just works, and judging by the steady stream of Pinterest notifications, it’s something people keep coming back to.
Thanks so much for letting me know you enjoyed it. I’m always happy to hear when a recipe resonates!