Egg Custard Tart

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •23cm loose-bottomed tart tin
• •Baking parchment and baking beans (or dried rice)
• •Fine sieve
• •Heavy-based saucepan
• •Whisk
• •Microplane or nutmeg grater

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the pastry

   Tip the flour, icing sugar and salt into a bowl. Add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Don't overdo it. A few larger flecks of butter are fine and will make the pastry shorter. Stir in the egg yolk and just enough cold water to bring it together into a rough dough. Press it into a flat disc, wrap it, and put it in the fridge for at least an hour.

   Cold hands, cold butter, cold water. Pastry rewards a chilly kitchen and punishes a warm one.
2. 2

   Roll and line the tin

   Roll the chilled pastry out on a lightly floured surface to about the thickness of a pound coin. Lift it carefully into a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin, pressing it gently into the corners and leaving the edges hanging over the rim. Don't trim them yet. Pastry shrinks in the oven and the overhang gives you a margin for error. Prick the base lightly with a fork and chill for another twenty minutes.

3. 3

   Blind bake the case

   Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Line the chilled pastry case with baking parchment and fill it with baking beans or rice. Bake for fifteen minutes, then lift out the parchment and beans and bake for another eight to ten minutes until the base looks dry and the edges are pale gold. The pastry should look biscuity, not greasy. Let it cool slightly, then trim the overhanging edges with a sharp knife. Drop the oven temperature to 140C/120C fan.

   A properly blind-baked case is the difference between a tart and a soggy disappointment. Don't rush this bit. The base needs to be cooked through before any custard goes near it.
4. 4

   Warm the cream

   Pour the cream and milk into a saucepan with the vanilla. Warm it over a gentle heat until it's just steaming and you can see a faint shimmer at the edges. Don't let it boil. Take it off the heat and let it sit for a minute or two while you deal with the eggs.

5. 5

   Make the custard

   Whisk the egg yolks, the whole egg, and the sugar together in a bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Whisk gently. You don't want to beat air into it, just bring it together. Pour the warm cream over the eggs in a slow stream, whisking the whole time, until everything is combined. Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a jug. This catches any stringy bits and gives you the silky finish that makes the difference.

6. 6

   Fill and bake

   Slide the pastry case, still in its tin, onto the middle shelf of the oven. Pour the custard carefully into the case, right up to the rim. Filling it at the oven door means you don't have to carry a wobbling tart across the kitchen. Grate a generous layer of fresh nutmeg over the top. Bake at 140C/120C fan for thirty to thirty-five minutes. The custard is ready when the edges are set but the very centre still has a slight wobble, like a panna cotta. It will continue to set as it cools.

   Overbaked custard splits and weeps. Underbaked custard pools when you cut it. The wobble in the middle is the only thing you should be looking at. Trust the wobble.
7. 7

   Cool and serve

   Let the tart cool in the tin on a wire rack until it reaches room temperature. Don't be tempted to put it in the fridge straight away. The custard needs the slow cool to settle properly. Once cooled, you can chill it for an hour or two if you prefer it cold, or serve it as it is. A final grating of nutmeg over the top before slicing. Cut with a long, sharp knife wiped clean between slices.

Chef Tips

• •The nutmeg has to be fresh. Whole nutmegs keep for years in a jar and grate to order in seconds. Pre-ground nutmeg is a different spice altogether, and not in a good way. This is the one ingredient I'd refuse to compromise on for this tart.
• •Strain the custard. I know it feels like a fussy step, but it catches the chalazae (those little white knots on the egg yolks) and any stray bits of cooked egg from the warm cream. The result is the silky, glossy custard that makes a custard tart worth the trouble.
• •If your pastry cracks during blind baking, don't panic. Patch it with a scrap of raw pastry pressed into the gap and put it back in the oven for a minute or two. The custard will find any hole you leave it, and a leak is a sad thing to discover when the tart is already in the oven.
• •Serve it with nothing. No cream, no fruit, no sauce. A custard tart is a complete thing on its own and any addition is an admission that you didn't quite trust it. Just a slice on a plate and a fork.

Advance Preparation

• •The pastry can be made up to two days ahead and kept wrapped in the fridge, or frozen for up to a month.
• •The blind-baked pastry case can be made the day before. Keep it in the tin, lightly covered, at room temperature.
• •The finished tart keeps well in the fridge for up to three days. Bring it back to room temperature for half an hour before serving so the custard regains its silkiness.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 130g)