Flashback to my pastry disaster in Portugal

I was backpacking through Lisbon back in the day and crashed at a hostel. They had this old oven in the common space, and I got the bright idea to bake pastéis de nata for the crew. Totally winged it with a sketchy recipe from a local. The heat was all over the place, so some tarts were charcoal, others were goo. We still ate them, laughing our heads off. Now, with all the baking apps and precise gear, it's way easier. But honestly, that messy attempt taught me to roll with the punches. Good times, even if it was a total fail.

3 comments

3 Comments

robinson.holly3mo ago

Tried making them at home after that trip and totally failed the first few times. I mean, I finally got a cheap oven thermometer and realized my oven was running way too hot. Letting the custard chill overnight in the fridge made a huge difference too, it stopped being so runny.

olivia_webb3mo ago

Oh man, my friend Mark tried the same thing in his tiny apartment kitchen. He used some random online recipe and sweetened condensed milk instead of regular, so the custard was like glue. His oven door didn't seal right, and the heat just blasted one side. We ended up with a chipped ceramic dish and six lopsided, totally burnt tarts. We still scraped out the middles and ate them, though.

grantm613mo ago

Yikes, that whole story gives me flashbacks to my buddy Dave trying to cook a whole salmon on a tiny grill. He wrapped it in foil but poked no holes, so it basically steamed in its own juice and then the foil melted to the grate. We ate it anyway, picking little silver bits off the fish. Some kitchen disasters just make for a good story later, even if the food is kind of scary.