Portuguese Custard Tarts

 I have an intense fondness for vanilla custard.

Sidebar: When I was a toddler, my giagia would make us κρέμα Βανίλια from the ΓΙΩΤΗΣ sachets. We would crowd around her, impatiently waiting for her to spoon it into our small bowls. Then, we would slowly skim and eat the skin that would form on the top, before devouring the rest of it. I use to think that NOTHING could beat the taste of that ΓΙΩΤΗΣ vanilla custard, but alas I have been mistaken.

So when I went to Faro, Portugal the other week, the first thing I did was go to a bakery and sample Portuguese Custard Tarts, or, Pastéis de Nata. They were absolutely amazing! In fact, I ate one every morning. If you are anything like me and you visit Portugal, you must go to a bakery and have a pastry and um galão or a uma meia de leite.

Inspired by the flavours of Portugal, and forever craving those custard tarts, I made my own as soon as I got back home. 

Apple & Toffee Muffins

I don’t know about you, but I love having muffins for breakfast. And these Apple & Toffee Muffins pair perfectly with my morning coffee.

I used lactofree milk for this recipe because that’s the only thing I had in my fridge, and I really couldn’t be bothered with going to the store to buy some regular milk. So, if you are lactose intolerant like I am, feel free to sub lactofree milk. The muffins are just as delicious.

One more thing, and I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, I’m not a fan of overly sweet cakes/desserts—so I only used 1 piece of toffee for each muffin. But if you love toffee and extra sweetness, you should add about two pieces of toffee for the filling, and maybe some toffee crumbles to top it off. Adjust everything to taste. That’s my baking motto.

OK. Enough of my jabbering, and on to the actual baking!