C is for... Custard Tarts

Regular readers (and my friends) will know how much I LOVE custard. Egg custard tarts from Marks & Spencer are one of my favourite treats. So, I chose Custard Tarts for my 'C' in Baking the Alphabet. I found a recipe in The Great British Book of Baking for a 'Nutmeg Custard Tart'. I had bought some gluten-free pastry so I used that and just made the filling from the recipe. I altered it further by using crème fraîche instead of cream. BAD idea. It doesn't make a good filling, it goes lumpy and doesn't sieve well. Therefore, I'm giving you the original ingredients list from the book.

Ingredients

For the pastry:

175g plain flour

2 tbsp caster sugar

110g unsalted butter, chilled and diced

1 egg yolk, mixed with 2 tbsp ice-cold water

For the filling:

400ml single cream

200ml milk

ground nutmeg

2 eggs, plus 2 yolks

75g caster sugar

Method

To make the pastry:

Step 1

Sift the flour, a pinch of salt and the sugar into a bowl. Rub in the diced butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Using a round-bladed knife mix in the egg yolk to make a firm dough.

Step 2

Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for 20 minutes. Roll out on a floured surface and using a fluted cutter cut out individual circles. Put each tart into a hole in a cake tin and prick the bases. Cut out small squares of greaseproof paper, put one over each tart and top with baking beans.

Step 3

Heat the oven to 190°C/gas 5. Bake 'blind' for about 10 minutes, until lightly golden and just firm. Remove the paper and beans and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, and turn it down to 150°C/gas 2.

To make the filling:

Step 1

Put the cream and milk in a pan with some ground nutmeg (to taste). Slowly bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and leave to cool for about 5 minutes.

Step 2

In a bowl beat the eggs and sugar together, until light and smooth. Gradually pour the hot cream into the bowl, stirring all the time. Strain the mixture through a sieve and fill each pastry case to the top. Sprinkle a little nutmeg over each one.

Step 3

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until the tarts are lightly coloured and just firm.

Sadly my custard tarts weren't the best, although my love of custard shone through and meant I easily polished them off. I'm going to try these again using cream and will let you know how I get on. If anyone has tried this recipe or has a better one let me know!