A shell of crisp, flaky pastry, velvety custard in the centre and just enough caramelised sugar on top to add a hint of adult, slightly bitter, taste and texture. It's little wonder the pastel de nata - the Portuguese tart - has become such a cult favourite for young and old.
The secret to the best Portuguese tarts is in the lamination, says Wollongong's Royal Bakery owner Carlos Torcato. Raised in Mafra, Portugal, a city known for its baked goods, and baking since he was 12, Torcato knows a thing or two about the pastries of his homeland. This is probably why Royal is the first place people mention for the best Portuguese tarts in the Illawarra.
If Torcato is being honest, he'll tell you his recipe makes for the best Portuguese tarts not just in the Illawarra anywhere in the Sydney region as well. 'The lamination of a Portuguese tart, it only takes two turns, while the ones you buy (at supermarkets) have four turns ... same as they do for sausage rolls - while my one is crispier.'
There's a fair chance you've eaten pastries from Wollongong's Baker Street without knowing it. Owned by the Corban family and going strong since it was founded in 1985, Baker Street produces European pastries for the commercial market but also sells boxes to the public from its factory in Ruddock St, Corrimal. General manager Manuel Villalon said they had been baking Portuguese tarts for about 16 years, with production ramping up as they expanded to now employ 29 bakers and chefs.
Celia Vieira is so into the Portuguese tarts that she dedicates her whole business to them, selling her wares online and at a Saturday stall in the Stockland Shellharbour shopping centre. Born in Porto and moving from Portugal to Australia aged just six months, Vieira is still deeply attached to her original homeland and expresses it through her authentic baking. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she decided to put her family recipe into action, creating an 'isolation box' to send delicious tarts to loved ones in lockdown.
