Portuguese Egg Tart Cups (Printable View)

Crisp phyllo cups with creamy, cinnamon-flavored custard topped with powdered sugar, perfect for an indulgent snack.

# What You Need:

→ Phyllo Cups

01 - 12 sheets phyllo pastry
02 - 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

→ Custard Filling

03 - 1 cup whole milk
04 - 2 tbsp cornstarch
05 - ½ cup heavy cream
06 - ½ cup granulated sugar
07 - 4 large egg yolks
08 - 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
09 - ½ tsp ground cinnamon
10 - Pinch of salt

→ Topping

11 - 1 tsp ground cinnamon
12 - 2 tbsp powdered sugar

# How To Make It:

01 - Preheat the oven to 400°F.
02 - Brush each phyllo sheet lightly with melted butter. Stack 3 sheets and cut into squares large enough to line the 12-cup muffin tin.
03 - Press each 3-sheet stack gently into the muffin tin cups to form shells.
04 - Bake shells for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly golden, then remove and set aside.
05 - In a medium saucepan, whisk milk and cornstarch until smooth. Add cream, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.
06 - Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat.
07 - Divide warm custard evenly among baked phyllo cups.
08 - Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until custard is set and tops are lightly golden.
09 - Allow to cool slightly, then dust with ground cinnamon and powdered sugar before serving.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The phyllo cups stay crispy even as they cradle the warm, creamy custard—that textural contrast is addictive.
  • These come together in under an hour, which means you can serve something that tastes like you spent all day baking.
  • One batch makes twelve, so you have enough to share or to convince yourself it's reasonable to eat two before dinner.
02 -
  • The custard must be warm when you pour it into the phyllo cups—cold custard will shock the shells and they'll lose their crispness.
  • Don't overbake the filled tarts; the custard should barely jiggle in the center when you pull them out, because it will set more as it cools and you don't want scrambled eggs in your dessert.
03 -
  • Thaw phyllo in the refrigerator the night before—it's more forgiving than rushed room-temperature thawing, and the sheets separate more cleanly.
  • If the custard looks like it's starting to scramble around the edges as it cooks, pull it off the heat immediately; it will keep cooking from residual heat and you'd rather err toward slightly looser than grainy.
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