custard tarts

They received the winner of excellence for gourmets from the petit futé regions (twice!). Manuel Da Fonseca's pastéis de nata are reputed. Very famous. From Maine et Loire to the Paris region, discover its history and its journey ...

What are pastéis?

But yes, you necessarily know! Pastel de nata is a delicious Portuguese cupcake with vanilla cream that is somewhat reminiscent of custard. This cream is placed on a puff pastry.
At Manuel da Fonseca, they are handcrafted in the tradition according to a family recipe handed down for more than two centuries: 1820.

So it's a family affair. The bakery, Manuel was born in it. Parents bakers, grandparents bakers, in short, the way was clear. He opened the shops one after the other: two in Paris, two in the Parisian suburbs and two in Angers.

Passionate about pastry and more particularly these small Portuguese pastries, he decided to open a 400m2 laboratory exclusively devoted to pastel de nata. The goal: to produce it for all bakers / pastry chefs, restaurateurs and distributors across France.
For this, before the pandemic came to disrupt artisans, restaurateurs etc ... he employed 18 people just in production.

And for this production, a major ally, with which Manuel tells us he is in love ... pasteurizer ! Thanks to this machine, 240 to 360 liters of cream are produced daily ...
For, beware hang on, up to 400 pastéis passed per month.

A well kept secret

Obviously, we wondered what was the magic serum put in these cakes to make them so popular.
No serum, Manuel assures us, but a secret recipe handed down from father to son. Even the employees only have access to 70% of the revenue, the other 30% remain a well-kept secret… And this, for 200 years!

Well, to be honest, it doesn't matter whether or not we know the secret recipe, the main thing being that we can taste these little wonders… and we advise you to do the same QUICKLY!