[1] Outside Portugal, they are particularly popular in other parts of Western Europe, Asia and former Portuguese colonies, such as Brazil, Mozambique, Macau, Goa and East Timor.

The Macanese variant has been adopted by KFC and is available in regions such as mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore.

[3] At the time, convents and monasteries used large quantities of egg-whites for starching clothes, such as friars and nuns' religious habits.

In the aftermath of the Liberal Revolution of 1820, following the dissolution of religious orders and in the face of the impending closure of many convents and monasteries, the monks started selling pastéis de nata at a nearby sugar refinery to bring in revenue.

[7] In 2011, following the result of a public vote, the pastry was announced as one of Portugal's Seven Wonders of Gastronomy, further cementing it as one of the country's most popular national dishes.