Custard Tart

My Mum was a big believer in the after-school snack.  When my brother and I got home from school, there was always something tasty waiting for us, either homemade or otherwise.  The otherwise usually came from the deli at the end of our street, which stocked iced buns, custard tarts, vanilla slices and 'dutch' cakes (spiced ginger cake on a pastry base decorated with pink icing).  I think my Mum was one of their best customers.

Even though I consumed quite a lot of custard tarts as a child, I have never had one as an adult.  I've certainly had versions of the custard tart, such as lemon and lime brulee tart, but its been decades since I've tasted a pure, unadulterated baked custard tart with nutmeg sprinkled on top.  I'm about to right that wrong. 

As I don't have a tried and true recipe, I did some research and discovered there are several different approaches to making a custard tart.  Some recipes use cream, others use milk, and some use half cream and half milk, and sometimes the milk/cream is heated beforehand.  The quantity of sugar varies, as do cooking times and oven temperatures. What to do, what to do?  I decided to use a sweet pastry recipe I know well for the tart base, and was inspired by a number of other recipes for the filling. 

Custard Tart

Sweet Pastry

100g caster sugar
200g unsalted butter
300g plain flour
1 egg

Filling

3 eggs
600ml whipping cream
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
nutmeg for sprinkling

To make the pastry, ensure the butter and egg are at room temperature before you start.  Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

Add the egg, and mix until well combined.  Add the flour and mix gently until just combined.  Tip the dough onto a floured surface and bring the mixture together gently until smooth.  It is important not to overwork the dough at any stage during the process otherwise it will lose its delicacy. 

Pat the dough into a disc shape (so that it is easier to roll out afterwards), wrap in cling film and refrigerate until firm.  I like to make my dough the night before so it is very well chilled before use. 

Roll out the dough on a floured surface and then press it into a deep pie tin.  I used a 24cm fluted tin, which was probably a bit too big as there ended up being too much of a gap between the custard filling and the top of the tart.  However, if there is too much 'edge', this can be trimmed off before serving.

Refrigerate the tart shell until firm.  There will be some dough leftover.  Keep this, as you can use it to plug any cracks in the pastry shell after it comes out of the oven.

Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees celcius.  Blind-bake the pastry for 10 minutes.  Remove the pastry weights and bake for another 10 minutes until the pastry is golden. 

Reduce the oven temperature to 170 degrees celcius.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla essence until combined and without making too much froth otherwise this will create lots of bubbles on the surface of the custard.  Pour in the heated cream and whisk gently. Strain the liquid to ensure there are no eggy bits and pour into the tart shell.  Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then remove it and sprinkle the surface evenly with nutmeg. 

Put the tart back in the oven and bake for another 15 minutes.  As you can see I am using a pastry edge protector so the edges don't get too brown during the cooking process.

The centre of the tart will be wobbly when you take it out of the oven but, don't panic, as it will set as it cools.  Leave to cool at room temperature for about an hour and then refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Serve with berries or stewed rhubarb.

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