About Us

The traditional pastel de nata recipe used by the pastry chefs in Portugal sets Maria Nata apart.

Despite the ‘frozen from fresh’ process, the pastel de nata recipe is artisanal, authentic and appealing to the senses.

Most of our clients are independent businesses. We understand your strong ethos for home-baked products. To this end, our original Portuguese pastel de nata are a guaranteed match for your high-quality standards.

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The Recipe

The classic pastel de nata recipe includes fresh milk, sugar, flour, margarine, eggs, salt and vanilla from Portuguese dairies, mills and refineries.

In addition to the traditional pastel de nata recipe, we’ve evolved our product range to meet today’s dietary requirements and lifestyle choices, introducing our –

• Lactose-Free Pastel de Nata Recipe - with lactose-free milk and margarine
• Vegan Pastel de Nata Recipe – with soya milk, vegan margarine and vegan cream

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The Technique

The pastry chefs in the Portuguese kitchens have mastered this very special pastel de nata recipe across years of mixing perfect pastry and lusciously velvety nata filling.

They’ve got the know-how and skills, ensuring pastry that’s as crisp and crumbly as it should be, and a signature singe mark on top of every scrumptious pastel de nata. (The secret is using the right quantity of milk and getting the oven to a high enough temperature.)

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The Preparation

With all the work already done for you, it couldn’t be easier to prepare your pastel de nata for plating. Baking temperatures and times are –

• Raw Nata - Commercial convention - oven temperature 230C for 12 to 16 minutes
• Pre-Baked Nata - All ovens (including domestic) - oven temperature 180C for 8 minutes

The pastel de natarecipe used by our Portuguese pastry chefs is perfect for freezing.

It’s the ‘frozenfrom fresh’ technique, coupled with the authentic pastel de nata recipe, thatguarantees nata deliciousness from Portugal to your premises.

What are the Key Benefits of Authentic Pastel de Nata with the Freshness Frozen in?

From a reduction offood waste, to improved stock control, to the retention of freshness…

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Our frozen pastelde nata recipe ticks many boxes for busy owners and managers of cateringoutlets.

Let’s run throughthe benefits you can expect when you work with Maria Nata -

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• ‍Convenience – Easy to store. Easy to prepare. No mess. No fuss.
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• ‍CostEffectiveness – Frozen foods arecheaper to buy than fresh. You get all the quality of a freshly baked artisanpastel de nata recipe at a frozen price point.
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• ‍Efficiency – The durability and convenience of frozen nata givesyou greater control over your spend, your stock and your operational processes.
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• ‍Flexibility – There are 30g, 60g and 90g classic, lactose free orvegan options to suit the specific needs of your business, in the sizes andquantities you want, when you want them.
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• ‍Hygiene – Freezing reduces the spread of bacteria that canthrive in fresh foods.
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• ‍Longer ShelfLife – Frozen product is more durableand more sustainability due to less wastage.
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• ‍Nutritious – Nutrients are sealed in during the freezing processfor improved health benefits.
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• ‍Quality – Every nata is quality checked in the Portuguesekitchen before being frozen. So, they’ll arrive at your premises exactly asthey left the oven.

There you have it! No waste. No additional manpower. More spare hands.

What Are the Origins of the Pastel de Nata Recipe?

The Portuguese custard tart - known as the pastel de nata - is one of the most popular sweet treats on the planet.

But its origins date back to the monasteries and convents over 300 years ago in Portugal.

The alternative name for the nata - Doce Conventual – gives a direct nod to the monks and nuns. After all, their ingenuity and prudence had a very pleasing a lasting result.

They came up with the pastel de nata recipe to use up the tons of egg yolks left over after they’d used the egg whites for starching clothes.

That’s how and where the pastel de nata recipe started. It’s been loved in Portugal ever since and its popularity has spread across the globe down the centuries.  

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All Pastel de Nata Are Not Created Equal

You know how pizza always seems to taste better when it’s been made by the Italians?

It’s exactly the same with an authentic pastel de nata recipe. The nata always tastes better when it comes from the oven of a Portuguese pastry chef.

You don’t get that authenticity and joy when other suppliers try to replicate the Portuguese pastel de nata recipe anywhere else. They try. Some might do a reasonable job. But they’re missing the key ingredient and that ingredient is Portugal.

We bring Portugal to your plates, for your clients and customers to relish, dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar, and served with a rich Cappuccino or Espresso.

That’s how we enjoy pastel de nata in Portugal.

That’s the Maria Nata difference.

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