Delicious Custard Tart

How to make a delicious Custard Tart, simple step by step instructions from start to finish.

Ingredients

Method

  • Pastry
  • 250g / 9oz Plain or all purpose flour
  • 130g / 4½oz Cold butter
  • 60g / 2oz Sugar
  • 1 Egg (beaten)
  • 20g/mls Milk
  • 2g / ¼tsp Salt
  • Custard
  • 260mls Milk (full fat/cream, 4%)
  • 260mls Double / heavy cream
  • 100g / 3½oz Sugar
  • 7 egg yolks (Large)
  • 12mls / 2 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 2g / ½tsp Freshly grated nutmeg
  • Making the pastry.
  • You can make this pastry by hand, or it’s much better to use a food processor,
  • First beat the egg and the milk together.
  • Put the flour, cold butter, sugar, and salt into the food processor and pulse for a few seconds until the ingredients resemble fine bread crumbs.
  • Pour in the beaten egg and milk mixture, pulse the machine until the pastry comes together (approx 45 seconds) do not over mix.
  • Remove it from the machine, roll it into a flat disc, wrap it in cling film, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat your oven to 180°C / 355°F / gas mark 4
  • Roll out the pastry, big enough to overlap a 20cm / 8in tart tin with a removable bottom.
  • Once the pastry is in the tin, (do not trim off the excess pastry), prick all over the bottom of the pastry with a fork, line the pastry with crumpled up parchment paper and blind bake it (using baking beans, uncooked rice is a good alternative) in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
  • After the 20 minutes remove the beans and paper, carefully trim off the excess pastry, brush with beaten egg and bake for a further 20 minutes.
  • In a bowl, separate 7 egg yolks, add the sugar and whisk until a creamy pale white colour.
  • In a sauce pan bring the cream, milk, and vanilla extract to a boil.
  • Carefully pour 2 ladles of the hot milk/cream from the saucepan onto the egg yolks and quickly whisk it in, this is to temper the eggs, once mixed in, slowly add the the mixture to the pan, and blend it all together, then pour the custard into a jug, through a fine sieve (this will get rid of most of the air bubbles)
  • Adjust your oven setting to 150°C / 300°F /gas mark 2-3.
  • Pour the custard into the pastry case to the top, grate some fresh nutmeg over the whole surface, and carefully get it into the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven; allow to cool, slice a serve.
  • Enjoy

Equipment & products used in my kitchen