The Great British Bake off starts on 5th August and a custard tart has featured on the programme before! Another one of our favourite summer desserts, this fantastic egg custard tart recipe from the Independent is the epitome of summer in our eyes!
If you are looking for a light and tasty dessert for summer, this egg custard tart recipe is ideal! As one of our favourite summer desserts, this recipe from the Independent will tick all of your boxes. The deliciously creamy filling coupled with a crisp pastry is the perfect combination. A sprinkling of nutmeg tops of what is an outstanding dessert.
Photograph by Shanti, shanti (view original)
Ingredients:
For the Pastry
- 150g of unsalted butter
- 225g plain flour
- 50g of caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- Salt
For the Custard Filling
- 100ml of whole milk
- 350ml of single cream
- 2 tsp of vanilla extract
- 3 8 egg yolks
- 100g of caster sugar
- The juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 1 nutmeg
Instructions:
Step 1-Grease a loose base flan tin, around 24cm in diameter and place to one side ready to use later on.
Step 2-Start preparing the pastry by adding the unsalted butter and plain flour in a bowl before mixing together using your hands. You should do this until it starts to look like breadcrumbs. Then add in the sugar and a pinch of salt and stir the mixture until it is well combined. Before adding the egg, make a well in the centre of the mixing bowl. Then add in the egg and use a fork to mix it in with the rest of the mixture. Once the pastry starts to bind, again use your hands to knead the dough until it is smooth. Wrap the dough in clingflim and leave in the refrigerator for at least an hour until it is a lot firmer.
Step 3- Dust your kitchen surface with flour and roll the pastry out so it is a few inches wider than the tart tin you are using. Use the rolling pin to place the pastry over the tin. Press it in to the base of the tin carefully. Place the tin on a baking tray with baking paper and refrigerate until the pastry firms up again. At this point you can preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.
Step 4-Take the tart base out of the fridge, line it with a piece of baking paper as well as filling it with baking beans. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Once it has baked, remove the baking beans and the baking paper. Place it back in the oven for no more than 5 minutes to brown the base of the pastry.
Step 5- To help avoid the bottom of the pastry getting soggy, brush the inside of the tart with an egg yolk which will combat the problem. Bake again in the oven for 5 minutes to help it dry out.
Step 6-Turn the oven down to about 130 degrees celcius. Now you can start making the custard for the filling of the tart. Take the single cream and he whole milk and add them to a saucepan on a medium heat. Add in the vanilla extract and allow the mixture to simmer. In a separate bowl, add the 8 egg yolks and the caster sugar and whisk them together. Once you are happy that the cream has simmered for long enough, pour it over the egg yolk and sugar mixture, whisking constantly as you do so.
Step 7-To avoid any spillage, we recommend that you leave the tart base in the oven. This means you will easily be able to pour the custard mixture in without spilling any on your kitchen floor! Grate some nutmeg on the top of the custard filling and bake for no more than 40 minutes until you can see the custard setting around the edge but still with a bit of a wobble in the middle.
Step 6-Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Serve as you like or perhaps with some cream drizzled on top.
Source: The Independent
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