Equipment
Ingredients
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
- 175 g plain flour
- 25 g icing sugar, sifted
- 85 g unsalted butter, cold and diced
- 1 egg yolk
- 15 ml cold water
Vanilla Custard Filling
- 250 ml whole milk
- 250 ml double cream
- 5 egg yolks
- 50 g caster sugar
- 5 g vanilla bean paste
- 1 whole nutmeg
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 356 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbohydrates
- 29 g
- Fat
- 24 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 12 g
- Sodium
- 29 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 14 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 7 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 183 mg
- Potassium
- 111 mg
- Calcium
- 77 mg
- Iron
- 0.6 mg
- Magnesium
- 11 mg
- Phosphorus
- 115 mg
- Zinc
- 0.6 mg
- Vitamin A
- 258 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 1.5 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.9 mg
- Vitamin K
- 2 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.4 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.07 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.19 mg
- Niacin
- 0.3 mg
- Folate
- 25 mcg
- Water
- 58 g
- Alcohol
- 0 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
In a mixing bowl, combine the plain flour, icing sugar, and cold diced unsalted butter. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the single egg yolk and cold water to the bowl. Mix gently until the dough just begins to come together into a shaggy mass.
Form the dough into a flat disc, wrap tightly tightly, and refrigerate for 1 hour to allow the gluten to relax and the butter to firm up.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled pastry disc using a rolling pin until it is about 3mm thick.
Carefully transfer the rolled pastry into the 20cm tart tin, pressing it gently into the corners. Trim the overhang, prick the base with a fork, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 190C/375F. Line the chilled pastry shell with parchment paper and fill to the brim with baking beans. Blind bake for 15 minutes to set the edges.
Remove the parchment paper and baking beans. Return the tart shell to the oven at 190C/375F for a further 5 minutes until the base is dry and light golden. Remove from oven and reduce the oven temperature to 140C/285F.
While the oven temperature drops, combine the whole milk, double cream, and vanilla bean paste in a medium saucepan. Gently heat over medium power until it begins to steam and bubble slightly at the edges, about 85C/185F.
In a separate heatproof mixing bowl, whisk the 5 egg yolks and caster sugar together until just combined and smooth.
Slowly pour the hot milk mixture over the egg yolks while whisking constantly to temper the eggs and prevent them from scrambling.
Pass the custard mixture through a fine sieve into a jug to remove any accidental egg clumps and ensure a perfectly silky texture.
Place the blind-baked tart shell on the middle shelf of the 140C/285F oven. Carefully pour the warm custard directly into the shell until it reaches the brim. Generously grate whole nutmeg evenly over the surface using a fine grater.
Bake the tart at 140C/285F for 30 to 35 minutes. Check the tart by gently nudging the tin; the edges should be set but the center third should still have a distinct, gentle wobble.
Remove the tart carefully from the oven and leave it to cool completely in the tin at room temperature for at least 1.5 hours. The residual heat will finish setting the custard perfectly.
Chef's Notes
- To avoid spilling the liquid custard when transferring to the oven, pull the oven rack out slightly, place the empty pastry shell on it, and pour the custard from a jug right at the oven shelf.
- Using freshly grated nutmeg rather than pre-ground makes an incredible difference in aromatics. The oils in the fresh nutmeg sit on the surface of the custard and release beautiful volatile compounds during baking.
- Do not skip straining the custard. Even the most careful tempering can result in tiny egg chalazae or cooked protein strands that disrupt the final silken texture.
- The secret to a perfect slice is patience. Cutting a custard tart while warm will result in weeping and structural collapse. Let it cool completely to room temperature before attempting to portion.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Keep loosely covered to prevent the crust from softening completely, though pastry will lose its initial crispness overnight.
Troubleshooting
Custard splits or becomes grainy
Cause: Oven temperature was too high or tart was baked for too long, causing the egg proteins to over-coagulate
Fix: Cannot be fixed once baked
Prevention: Ensure oven is strictly at 140C/285F and pull the tart while the center still has a significant wobble
Pastry shell shrinks down the sides of the tin
Cause: Dough was overworked developing too much gluten, or not chilled sufficiently before baking
Fix: Cosmetic issue mostly; trim uneven edges carefully with a serrated knife once cooled
Prevention: Rest dough for full durations mentioned and avoid stretching it when lining the tin
Soggy pastry base
Cause: Insufficient blind baking before adding the liquid filling
Fix: Cannot be fixed
Prevention: Bake pastry until visually dry and lightly golden before pouring in the custard
Cultural Context
The custard tart has roots tracing back to Medieval times, where similar dishes known as doucettes or darioles were served at grand banquets. It remains a cornerstone of British baking, famed for its austere elegance. Its modern resurgence was notably championed by Chef Marcus Wareing, whose interpretation was served to Queen Elizabeth II for her 80th birthday banquet.
