Our new contributing editor Edd Kimber, of The Boy Who Bakes and winner of the first season of The Great British Bake Off, shares his custard tart recipe in our first-ever British-baking themed issue. Find more English-inspired recipes and traditional English puddings in the January/February issue today!
When I was young, I lived in a small village called Thackley, and at the heart of the village was a fairly traditional bakery, serving simple, old-fashioned British baking. When my mum decided my twin brother and I deserved a treat, we would pay the bakery a visit, and without fail, I would get the same thing every time: a custard tart. It is a love from childhood that has endured; a simple custard tart will always be a nostalgic pleasure for me. Just don’t skimp on the nutmeg!
- 1¾ cups plus 1 tablespoon (226 grams) plain/cake flour
- ⅔ cup (150 grams) unsalted butter
- ¼ cup (50 grams) caster sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg (50 grams)
- 1 large egg yolk (19 grams), for brushing crust
- Custard Filling (recipe below)
- 1 whole nutmeg
- Place flour and butter in a large bowl. Using your fingertips, gently rub butter into flour until mixture is crumbly. Add sugar and salt, stirring to combine. Make a well in center of dry ingredients; add egg. Using a fork, gently stir egg into flour mixture until dough starts to come together. Using your hands, gently knead dough until smooth. Wrap dough in cling film (plastic wrap), and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
- Lightly grease a 9-inch round removable-bottom tart pan. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 12-inch circle, ¼ inch thick. Transfer to prepared tart pan, pressing into bottom and up sides, letting excess drape over pan. Trim excess pastry. Place on prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. (This will help the pastry keep its shape while baking.)
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°F).
- Top dough with a piece of crumpled parchment paper, letting ends extend over edges of pan. Add pie weights.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove paper and weights. Bake until lightly browned, about 5 minutes more. Using a pastry brush, coat inside of crust with egg yolk. Bake until dried out, about 2 minutes more. (The egg yolk creates a nice seal so that the liquid in the filling can’t make the pastry soggy.) Reduce oven temperature to 265°F (129°C).
- Leave tart in oven on rack. Carefully pull out rack, and pour Custard Filling into prepared crust. Generously grate nutmeg over entire tart.
- Carefully push rack back into oven. Bake until set around the edges but still slightly jiggly in center, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Remove from pan. Serve immediately.
- 1½ cups (360 grams) single cream/half-and-half
- Scant ½ cup (scant 120 grams) whole milk
- 2 teaspoons (8 grams) vanilla extract or
- 1 vanilla pod/bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved
- 8 large egg yolks (149 grams)
- ½ cup (100 grams) caster sugar
- In a medium saucepan, heat half-and-half and milk over medium heat. Add vanilla extract or vanilla pod and reserved seeds, and bring to a simmer.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar. Pour hot cream mixture over yolks, whisking constantly. Remove vanilla pod before using.
I’m rating this 5 stars because the flavor of the crust and custard were both delicious. That said mine never really set enough despite cooking it longer then it said, so maybe I needed to thicken the custard more before filling the crust. (I didn’t use nutmeg as I rarely like it).
For the custard you should put a bit of cornstarch before boiling it mixed in with the milk, I make 4 different types of custard thickness: g per half L of liquid (milk and cream)
-0g is English custard
-15g is Natilla (like a yoghurt)
-25/30g is Crema Catalana (perfect for this recipe)
-40/45g is Crema Pastissera (which is very thick)
Perfect. Turned out lovely. Made rhubarb compote to go over it. Yum!