Portuguese Custard Tarts
Ingredients:
Pastry:
250g cold unsalted butter, chopped
250g plain flour
40g Caster Sugar
Pinch of salt
Custard Filling:
100g caster sugar
30g plain flour
¾ cup milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 strip of lemon rind
3 egg yolks
½ cup cream
Method:
To make the pastry, mix the butter in a bowl with the flour, sugar and salt until crumbly looking (rather like damp sand). Pour in 3 tablespoons of water (and a dribble more if you think it needs it) and mix until it comes together. (Alternatively, pulse together in a food processor). Press the dough into a ball, flatting a bit and wrap in plastic. Put in the fridge for a couple of hours (you can make this a day in advance, or even freeze it at this stage).
Note: I got a bit confused with the next step so I just rolled the dough out thinly and cut out round shapes (using glasses) big enough to fit in my muffin pan. And that worked fine for me.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to make a 40x35cm rectangle. Cut in half lengthways and roll up each rectangle along its length to give two long sausages. Trim away the rough ends.
Cut each sausage into about six lengths of 6cm. Stand each one upright like a cylinder and then press down into the cylinder with both your thumbs to make a flower shape. Cut it with your hands and swivel around, pressing gently with your thumbs and forefingers to make a cozy nest as you spin. Don’t squash the pastry too much - it needs to flake and puff up nicely when it cooks.
Fit the pastry into your tins, pressing down so it takes the shape and the pastry extends a little above the edge. Make sure the bases are thin - push the pastry out a bit more and smooth the top edges, rolling over and pressing again to neaten into nice nests. If the weather is hot, you may have to refrigerate then again for a while to work the pastry along. Put them back in the fridge while you make the custard.
To make the custard, put the sugar in a small heavy-based pan with 3 tbsp of water. Stir over heat to dissolve the sugar and then let it come to a gentle boil. Cook until thickened a bit but not about to caramelize.
Meanwhile, put the flour in a wide bowl with a little of the milk, whisking to make a smooth slurry. Heat the rest of the milk in a small heavy-based pan with the vanilla and lemon rind. As the milk is about to come to the boil, add it to the flour slurry. Remove the lemon rind and whisk immediately until smooth. Whisk in the egg yolks and then tip it all back into the pan, whisking for a minute or two over low heat until it is smooth and the eggs have heated a little.
When your sugar syrup is ready, pour in a slow steady drizzle into the hot milk mixture, whisking continuously. Remove from the heat and mix in the cream, then pour into a jug (just to make filling the pastries easier). Heat your oven to 220C.
Take the pastries out of the fridge and fill them two-thirds full of custard. Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven, or until you can see the pastry is cooked and golden and the custards have a couple of dark amber speckles. You can remove any that look ready, leaving the paler ones for longer if necessary.
Once they’re all out of the oven, leave them in the tins but swivel them around a bit so they don’t stick while cooling. Serve at room temperature, plain, or as they serve them in the pastry shops in Balem: with a sachet of cinnamon, a sachet of icing sugar and a sashay out of the door….
Pastry:
250g cold unsalted butter, chopped
250g plain flour
40g Caster Sugar
Pinch of salt
Custard Filling:
100g caster sugar
30g plain flour
¾ cup milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 strip of lemon rind
3 egg yolks
½ cup cream
Method:
To make the pastry, mix the butter in a bowl with the flour, sugar and salt until crumbly looking (rather like damp sand). Pour in 3 tablespoons of water (and a dribble more if you think it needs it) and mix until it comes together. (Alternatively, pulse together in a food processor). Press the dough into a ball, flatting a bit and wrap in plastic. Put in the fridge for a couple of hours (you can make this a day in advance, or even freeze it at this stage).
Note: I got a bit confused with the next step so I just rolled the dough out thinly and cut out round shapes (using glasses) big enough to fit in my muffin pan. And that worked fine for me.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to make a 40x35cm rectangle. Cut in half lengthways and roll up each rectangle along its length to give two long sausages. Trim away the rough ends.
Cut each sausage into about six lengths of 6cm. Stand each one upright like a cylinder and then press down into the cylinder with both your thumbs to make a flower shape. Cut it with your hands and swivel around, pressing gently with your thumbs and forefingers to make a cozy nest as you spin. Don’t squash the pastry too much - it needs to flake and puff up nicely when it cooks.
Fit the pastry into your tins, pressing down so it takes the shape and the pastry extends a little above the edge. Make sure the bases are thin - push the pastry out a bit more and smooth the top edges, rolling over and pressing again to neaten into nice nests. If the weather is hot, you may have to refrigerate then again for a while to work the pastry along. Put them back in the fridge while you make the custard.
To make the custard, put the sugar in a small heavy-based pan with 3 tbsp of water. Stir over heat to dissolve the sugar and then let it come to a gentle boil. Cook until thickened a bit but not about to caramelize.
Meanwhile, put the flour in a wide bowl with a little of the milk, whisking to make a smooth slurry. Heat the rest of the milk in a small heavy-based pan with the vanilla and lemon rind. As the milk is about to come to the boil, add it to the flour slurry. Remove the lemon rind and whisk immediately until smooth. Whisk in the egg yolks and then tip it all back into the pan, whisking for a minute or two over low heat until it is smooth and the eggs have heated a little.
When your sugar syrup is ready, pour in a slow steady drizzle into the hot milk mixture, whisking continuously. Remove from the heat and mix in the cream, then pour into a jug (just to make filling the pastries easier). Heat your oven to 220C.
Take the pastries out of the fridge and fill them two-thirds full of custard. Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven, or until you can see the pastry is cooked and golden and the custards have a couple of dark amber speckles. You can remove any that look ready, leaving the paler ones for longer if necessary.
Once they’re all out of the oven, leave them in the tins but swivel them around a bit so they don’t stick while cooling. Serve at room temperature, plain, or as they serve them in the pastry shops in Balem: with a sachet of cinnamon, a sachet of icing sugar and a sashay out of the door….