Custard Tart With Nutmeg Pastry Food

CUSTARD & NUTMEG TART

Steps:

• Beat the milk and eggs together, strain into a jug and stir in the sultanas, vanilla, a generous grating of nutmeg and the orange zest. Chill to allow the flavours to mingle while you prepare the tart case.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 with a baking tray inside. Roll the pastry out a little thinner on a lightly floured surface until large enough to line a loose-bottomed 23cm tart tin, leaving the excess pastry overhanging at the top. Chill for 20 mins. Line the pastry case with baking parchment, fill with baking beans and cook on the heated tray for 10-15 mins. Remove the beans and parchment, and bake for 5 mins more to cook the base of the tart. Turn the heat down to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Trim round the edge of the pastry case with a sharp knife to remove the excess.
• Carefully pour the custard mixture into the tart case, evenly distributing the sultanas, then grate over some more nutmeg. Bake for 20-30 mins until the custard is set but it still has a wobble in the centre. Cool to room temperature or chill before serving.

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.

CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• The Case: Roll out the pastry into a rectangle and brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle on some icing sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Tightly roll the pastry, along the longest side, into a sausage roll and slice into discs (about 1-inch thick). With the palm of your hand press down into each disc, then roll out each one into a circle.
• Grease the bottom and sides of 6 oven-proof glasses with butter, then dip each into a bag of flour so that the flour sticks to the butter and shake off any excess. Put the center of the pastry circles on top of the floured oven-proof glass, and gently press the sides of the pastry onto the side of the glass (it should look a bit pleated). Place the glasses (rim side down) on a tray in a preheated 350 degree F.oven). When they are cooked, take them out of the oven and press the bottom of each pastry case, this will ensure that they have a flat bottom.
• The Custard: Break the eggs into a mixing bowl with the sugar and orange zest and whisk thoroughly. Scrape out the seeds inside of a vanilla pod and stir this into the egg mixture. Pour the cream into a saucepan and remove from the heat just before it boils. Pour the hot cream into the bowl of eggs, stirring all the time. Then transfer this mixture back to the saucepan, on medium heat and stir continuously until it has thickened.
• Pour the custard into the pastry cases and let sit to cool.
• Heat the sugar and water on a high heat until you have a golden caramel. As soon as this is ready, pour a thin layer on top of the custard.;

OLD-FASHIONED BAKED EGG CUSTARD TART WITH NUTMEG

Steps:

• To make the pastry, first of all sift the flour with the pinch of salt into a large bowl, holding the sieve up high to give it a good airing. Then add the lard and butter and, using only your fingertips, lightly and gently rub the fat into the flour, again lifting the mixture up high all the time to give it a good airing.
• When everything is crumbly, sprinkle in about 1 tablespoon of cold water. Start to mix the pastry with a knife and then finish off with your hands, adding a few more drops of water, till you have a smooth dough that leaves the bowl clean. Then pop the pastry into a polythene bag and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5, 375°F (190°C) and pop the baking sheet in to pre-heat on the centre shelf.
• After that, roll the pastry out into a circle on a surface lightly dusted with flour, giving it quarter turns to keep its round shape; it's a good idea at this stage to put the tin lightly on top of the pastry - the size needs to be 1 inch (2.5 cm) bigger all round. Now transfer it, rolling it over the pin, to the tin, and press it lightly and firmly around the base, sides and rim. Now take a sharp knife and trim the overlapping pastry. Then press the rim of the pastry so that about ¼ inch (5 mm) overlaps the edge.
• Next, roll the trimmings and cut out about 24 leaves, making veins in them with the blunt side of the knife. Now brush the whole surface of the pastry case with some of the beaten eggs, arranging the leaves all around the rim, overlapping them. Brush these, too, with beaten egg. Now prick the base of the tart with a fork, then place it on the baking sheet and bake on the centre shelf for 20 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden. Check after 4 minutes to make sure that the pastry isn't rising up in the centre. If it is, prick it again a couple of times, pressing it back down with your hands. After 20 minutes, remove it from the oven, leaving the baking sheet there, and reduce the temperature to gas mark 3, 325°F(170°C).
• Now place the cream in a saucepan and bring it up to a gentle simmer, then whisk the beaten eggs and sugar together in a large heatproof jug using a balloon whisk - but not too vigorously because you don't want to make bubbles. Then pour the hot liquid over the beaten eggs, add the vanilla extract and half the nutmeg and whisk briefly again.
• Now place the pie tin back on the baking tray with the oven shelf half out and have ready the rest of the grated nutmeg on a piece of foil. Carefully pour the filling into the pastry case (it will be very full) and scatter the rest of the nutmeg all over, then dot with the softened butter and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the filling is golden brown, firm in the centre and slightly puffed up. Serve it warm or slightly cooled at room temperature.

CUSTARD TARTS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Take a sheet of shortcrust pastry and use a 10cm cookie cutter to cut 12 circles into the pastry. Press each circle into the holes of a cupcake tray. Scrunch up squares of baking paper, then use to line each of the pastry cases. Fill each with baking beans or uncooked rice, pressing them in a little, and bake for 10 mins. Remove the beans/rice and the baking paper and bake for 5 mins more, until the base is starting to colour slightly. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 140C/120C fan/gas 1.
• Bring the cream, milk, vanilla bean paste 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.
• Pour the custard into each of the tart cases, filling them as high as you can. Grate over a little more nutmeg on each, then carefully place back into the oven and bake for 15-20 mins, until the tarts look set with a slight wobble. Remove and cool, serve with a little more nutmeg freshly grated over the top.

NEXT-LEVEL EGG CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• First, make the pastry. Melt the butter in a saucepan until foaming, then sizzle until it turns nut-brown. Pour off the fat into a bowl, leaving the sediment in the pan to be discarded. Leave the fat to cool, then chill until it hardens again. Combine the flour, icing sugar and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl. When the fat has hardened, cut it into chunks and rub it into the flour mixture until crumbly. Stir in the egg yolk and 1 tsp cold water, and bring it together into a dough. Flatten into a disc, then cover and chill for at least 30 mins. Can be made up to two days ahead. (The pastry can also be made with regular butter.)
• Roll the chilled pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a roughly 5mm thickness, then lift into a 20cm tart tin. Press the pastry into the base and up the side using a small piece of excess floured pastry. Leave some overhanging the rim. Chill for at least 30 mins, or freeze for 10 mins. Reserve any excess pastry.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line the pastry case with baking parchment and fill with baking beans or uncooked rice. Put on a baking tray and bake for 15 mins. Remove the parchment and beans and bake for 15-20 mins more until biscuity.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Tip the cream and vanilla into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir (don't whisk) the egg yolks and sugar together in a heatproof bowl. Slowly drizzle the hot cream over the egg yolk mixture, stirring continuously (not whisking) until everything is incorporated. Sieve the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a jug, then spoon off any froth.
• Remove the baked tart case from the oven, and reduce the temperature to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Trim the excess pastry from the case, and mend any cracks with the reserved raw pastry. With the tart case on the baking tray, slide it halfway back into the oven, then carefully pour in the filling to the top of the case. Finely grate over at least half a nutmeg. Gently slide the tray fully into the oven and bake for 40 mins, or until just set with a very slight wobble. Leave to cool completely in the tin, then remove from the case and cut into slices.