Berry Custard Puff Food

BERRY CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C.
• In a small bowl mix the egg yolk, water and vanilla extract. Set aside.
• Add the flour, sugar, salt and butter to a food processor. Pulse until small crumbs are formed. With the food processor running, add the egg and water mixture through the feed tube until it comes together in a ball. If it seems like it is not coming together, drizzle in a small amount of cold water until it forms a ball. Remove the dough and wrap in plastic wrap for 10-15 minutes, or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
• Using a piece of parchment paper larger than the tart pan, lightly flour the paper and roll out the dough using a rolling pin until you get a circle that is slightly larger than your tart pan.
• Lift the dough using the parchment paper and lay the dough into the tart pan and it press up the sides. Use a rolling pin over the pan to cut off excess dough. Prick the entire dough with a fork evenly to prevent the dough bubbling. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
• Set aside and allow to cool.
• In a medium saucepan, stir together the milk and sugar over medium heat bring to a boil.
• While the milk is coming to a boil, in a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Stir the cornstarch into the eggs until smooth. Whisk 1/3 cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture. This will temper the eggs and stop them from curdling or cooking. Add the rest of the milk slowly to the egg mixture while whisking.
• Return the mixture to the saucepan over low heat stir the mixture constantly stirring so the eggs don't burn on the bottom of the pan, until thickened. Once the custard has thickened, remove from the heat. Stir in the the vanilla and mix until well incorporated. Transfer the custard into a glass storage dish and put plastic wrap directly on top of the custard to prevent a skin. Cover with a lid and refrigerate until ready to use. Can last up to 1 week refrigerated.
• Add the cooled custard to the cooled tart shell and smooth the top and spread to the edges. Top with the berries.

BERRY CUSTARD PUFF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 deg celsius.
• Cut pastry sheet into 8 rectangles.
• Place on lightly greased oven tray.
• Glaze with beaten egg.
• Place in oven for 10 minutes or until puffed and golden.
• Melt jam in a saucepan over low heat.
• Add sliced strawberries and other berries, heating gently until softened.
• Place 1 baked pastry pastry on each serving plate. Top with berry mixture.
• Top with another baked pastry and pour warm custard over the top.
• Bring water and sugar to boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, add orange rind and cook 5 minutes.
• Garnish with orange rind on top of custard.
• Indulge!

VANILLA CUSTARD SLICES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll out 250g of the pastry on a sheet of baking parchment to about 25cm square. Scatter over half the almonds, then press them in very gently, dust with half the icing sugar and lay over a second sheet of baking parchment. Lift onto a baking sheet, and sit another baking sheet on top like a sandwich. Fill a few small tins with baking beans (or something similarly heavy and ovenproof, like uncooked rice). Bake for 30 mins, then have a quick peek - it will probably need another 5 mins to be well browned and crisp all over.
• Remove from the oven, take off the weights and top baking tray, then carefully lift off the top sheet of parchment and leave to cool. Repeat with the remaining pastry - you can do both sheets at once if you have enough baking sheets and tins, but they might not cook as evenly with two in the oven, so it is safer to do one at a time. Cool both completely.
• Put the gelatine in a bowl of cold water to soften, then put the remaining custard ingredients in a big saucepan. Set over a low heat to start, whisking continuously to mix well, then increase the heat a little until the custard is gently boiling. Keep whisking the whole time - the custard will thicken and lump unevenly, but keep cooking and whisking until it is smooth and very thick.
• Remove the custard from the heat and take out the vanilla pod. Squeeze out the water from the gelatine sheet, then stir it into the custard until it has dissolved.
• Line the base and sides of a 20cm square tin with baking parchment - criss-crossing two big strips will give you the neatest corners. Using a big, sharp knife and a ruler - or the base of your tin if it is removable - trim one pastry sheet to a shade under a 20cm square, so it will sit inside the tin, almond-side down. Spread over the custard as evenly as you can. Trim the second pastry sheet in the same way, but then divide the square into eight 10 x 5cm rectangles (so it will be easier when you cut the slices later). Sit them on top of the custard, almond-side up, putting them back together a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. Gently press down on the pastry so it doesn't break but sticks to the custard, then cover and chill for 4 hrs or so, but better still overnight.
• To serve, lift the slice from the tin and cut all the way through where the pastry top is already cut. Dust the slices with a little more icing sugar and serve. Best eaten within 24 hours, when the pastry is still good and crisp.

CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour with the lemon zest and a pinch of salt until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, egg and milk and bring together to form a dough. This can be made 2 days in advance.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out and use it to line a 20cm tart tin, leave 2cm of pastry hanging over the edge. Chill for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line the case with baking beans, bake blind for 20 mins, then remove the beans and continue to cook for a further 20 mins until the base is biscuity. Remove from oven and reduce the temperature to 140C/120C fan/gas 1.
• Bring the cream, milk, vanilla pod, lemon zest and a small grating of nutmeg to the boil. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale, then pour the hot milk and cream over, beating as you go. Strain custard into a jug, allow to settle for a few mins, then skim off any froth.
• Carefully pour the custard into the tart case, grate some more nutmeg over the top and bake for 40 mins or until just set with the very slightest wobble in the middle. Remove from the oven, trim the pastry edges off (away from the filling), then leave to cool completely before serving in slices with a grating more of nutmeg, if you like.