The pasteis de nata at Lusinata may not come with fancy toppings, but you can match these “tiny scorched suns” with Portuguese dessert wines and cherry liqueur.
“Do you know how Portuguese tarts first came to be?” asks Andre Ferreira, son of master pastry chef Fernando, who stands beside him whisking a secret combination of egg yolks, sugar, dairy and cinnamon in their Hurstville cafe-patisserie kitchen. “It’s a pretty cool story.”
The morning air is filled with the sweet fragrance of Fernando’s pasteis de nata, baked an hour ago and lined up in the glass display cabinet like tiny scorched suns. Bright yellow against Lusinata’s white walls and blue azulejos (tiles), the tarts are the only pastry baked here – the solo star of the show.
The main reason for this specialisation is Fernando’s skill and finesse as a pastry chef. Born in Seixal near Lisbon, he has spent four decades perfecting traditional Portuguese pastries, biscuits and cakes in his home country and in Australia after moving here in 1991.
Another reason is the passion of his son. “I want my father to retire,” says Andre. “Boots and all. He’s worked so hard for so long. I want him to rest. But I also want his talent and his recipes to continue. That can’t be lost. So I’m learning everything from him to carry it on.”
Having transferred the custard batter into a metal funnel, Fernando stands over a tray of 30 pastry-lined tartlet tins, pouring uncooked nata by opening and closing the funnel’s end with his finger.
The tarts are then baked for eight to 10 minutes at a blisteringly hot temperature, quickly crisping the pastry’s folds without the custard centre boiling over. Midway, Fernando turns the tray front-to-back for even baking before monitoring the oven’s temperature dials like a conductor tempering an orchestral suite. Andre, who watches on intently, is the only person who knows the secrets of his father’s tart recipe.
“He’s a perfectionist,” he says. “What somebody thinks is a perfect tart he’ll say is only halfway there. Dad is very tough and very picky.”
As Fernando opens the oven to reveal steaming tarts, Andre explains their origin from a time before the 18th century when monks at the Jeronimos Monastery in Belem, Lisbon, were left with bountiful yolks after starching their habits with eggwhites.
“They wanted to avoid waste,” says Andre. “And ended up creating the most famous tart in the world.”
Egg yolks give a Portuguese tart’s custard centre its rich, golden, thickened quality. At Lusinata, the molten centres – perfectly soft and sweet beneath the mottled surface – are only matched by the light crisp pastry, made here with butter imported from Europe. But what brand of butter, exactly?
“That’s another secret,” says Fernando. “There are great Australian and New Zealand butters but, for the best tarts, it has to be a particular one I like.”
The Ferreiras are the first to open a dedicated Portuguese tart cafe in Sydney. Melbourne has Casa Nata and Sweet Nata, and certainly Sydney isn’t short of excellent Portuguese tarts at patisseries including Tuga in Alexandria and Clovelly, and Sweet Belem in Petersham.
Lusinata’s specialisation extends to offering no special flavours or extra toppings on the tarts. The only garnishing here is cinnamon, available in spice shakers on the cafe tables.
You can, however, match them with Portuguese dessert wines and cherry liqueur Espinheira Ginja. After Andre pours a shot of the latter into a copinho de chocolate, an edible chocolate cup, it’s a sweet warming wonder between tart bites.
The pastry, melty and crackling, holds beautifully firm (no explosive cascading mess here), leading to what I can only describe as suspended eggy magma – rich, not too oozy, evenly sweet and best chewed slowly. These are tarts to convert the tart-dubious (perhaps scarred by congealed, undercooked, sapless versions) in one bite.
The Ferreiras may add other pastries to Lusinata’s range in the future but there’s no immediate plans. They’ve also opened in Hurstville rather than Petersham’s Little Portugal strip because they want to establish their brand and add to the area’s wide-ranging food culture.
“We don’t do this just for the Portuguese,” says Fernando. “We do this for everybody.”
Three more singular bakeries to try
Lune Croissanterie
Queues for the croissants at these boutiques dedicated to the warm, buttery pastry can be long, but Kate Reid’s creations are a must for any pastry lover
Martin Place Metro Station, Sydney and 115/151 Dunning Avenue, Rosebery, lunecroissanterie.com
Brooklyn Boy Bagels
Brooklyn-born bagel aficionado Michael Shafran uses kettle-boiling, hand-rolling and long cold fermentation for his traditional sweet and savoury New York-style bagels. Go for the dark, chewy pumpernickel loaded to the edges with spring onion and garlic schmear.
19 Carrington Road, Marrickville and 4 Reservoir Street, Surry Hills, brooklynboy.com.au
Olotl
People are often lining up for this weekend-only taco bar above Campos Coffee before its 11am opening time. Head there for the birria (in beef and vegan versions) and mole verde on handmade cornflour tortillas.
193 Missenden Road, Newtown, olotl.com.au
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