Friday, February 06, 2009

How to Bake a Bay Custard Tart

Yummy custard tart by Dan Lepard in the Guardian:

125g plain flour
75g caster sugar
75g soft unsalted butter
5 egg yolks plus 1 large egg
1 tbsp lemon juice
300ml whole milk
1½ tbsp (10g) cornflour
3 bay leaves, crushed
Nutmeg, for grating

Measure the flour and 25g sugar into a bowl, then rub in the butter. Beat one yolk, the lemon juice and 1 tbsp (15ml) of iced water with a fork, stir through the flour mix and work to a smooth dough. Chill for 20 minutes.

On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to 0.3cm thick, then cut into 10cm rounds. (Save a pinch of dough to mend any cracks in the cases once baked.) Press the rounds gently into the pockets of a deep muffin tray, then gently press one muffin paper into each pastry cup and weigh down with baking beans. Bake at 180C (fan-assisted 160C)/350F/gas mark 4 for 15 minutes, then carefully remove the papers and patch any cracks with the reserved pastry.

Whisk the milk, cornflour and 50g sugar in a saucepan, add the bay leaves, bring to a boil and leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Beat with the whole egg and four yolks, strain out the bay leaves and fill the pastry cups. Dust with nutmeg and bake at 160C (fan-assisted 140C)/320F/gas mark 2½ for 10-15 minutes until barely set.

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