Why did monasteries have so many spare egg yolks?

Egg whites were used to starch clothes

What happened in 1834 that ended monastic baking?

Religious orders were dissolved in Portugal

What gives the top its dark spots?

Very hot ovens caramelizing the custard

Pastel de Nata Quiz: Belém's Custard Tart Secrets

Since 1837 one bakery near the Jerónimos Monastery has made the tarts from a recipe known to only a few people, and this pastel de nata quiz explores their history. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on egg yolks and starched habits, puff pastry, caramelized tops, cinnamon, Pastéis de Belém, the 1834 monastery closures and Macau's version.

Start Pastel de Nata Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Origin
Where were pastéis de nata first made?
Yolks
Why did monasteries have so many spare egg yolks?
Closure
What happened in 1834 that ended monastic baking?
Bakery
When did the Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém open?
Name
What do they call their tarts at the original bakery?
Pastry
What kind of pastry forms the shell?
Top
What gives the top its dark spots?
Topping
What do customers often sprinkle on top?
Macau
Which former Portuguese territory has its own famous egg tart?
Secret
How many people are said to know the Belém recipe?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Where were pastéis de nata first made?
Answer: Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, Lisbon
Monks created the custard tarts.
Q2: Why did monasteries have so many spare egg yolks?
Answer: Egg whites were used to starch clothes
Bakers turned the yolks into sweets.
Q3: What happened in 1834 that ended monastic baking?
Answer: Religious orders were dissolved in Portugal
The monks sold their recipe.
Q4: When did the Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém open?
Answer: 1837
It still uses the secret recipe.
Q5: What do they call their tarts at the original bakery?
Answer: Pastéis de Belém
Only they may use that name.
Q6: What kind of pastry forms the shell?
Answer: Flaky puff pastry
It shatters when bitten.
Q7: What gives the top its dark spots?
Answer: Very hot ovens caramelizing the custard
Ovens run at very high temperatures.
Q8: What do customers often sprinkle on top?
Answer: Cinnamon and powdered sugar
Both are offered at the counter.
Q9: Which former Portuguese territory has its own famous egg tart?
Answer: Macau
Lord Stow's Bakery popularized it in 1989.
Q10: How many people are said to know the Belém recipe?
Answer: Only a small handful
Master bakers work in a secret room.

Pastel De Nata Quiz – Belém's Custard Tart Secrets

Pastéis de nata are Portuguese custard tarts created by monks at the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, Lisbon. Monasteries used egg whites to starch clothes and baked leftover yolks into sweets.

When Portugal dissolved religious orders in 1834, the monks sold their recipe. In 1837 the Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém opened nearby, and it still makes pastéis de Belém from a recipe known to only a few.

The tarts have flaky puff pastry and an egg custard caramelized in very hot ovens. Customers sprinkle cinnamon and powdered sugar on top. In Macau, Lord Stow's Bakery popularized a variation from 1989.

What This Quiz Teaches

Dessert lovers and travelers will enjoy these questions.

Who invented the tarts
Why egg yolks were plentiful
Which bakery keeps the recipe
How they are baked
Where else they spread

Did You Know?

Lines outside the Belém bakery can be long.
Pastéis are best eaten warm.
Portugal has many egg-yolk desserts.
The tarts spread to Asia through Macau.
Nata means cream in Portuguese.