“Like most good pastry cooking this tart is about juxtaposition: buttery crisp crust contrasted with a silky smooth centre,” says Alistair Wise. “Use good cream – this is one of those times when you’ll taste it.”
Ingredients
Sweet shortcrust pastry
Method
Main
1.For pastry, place flour, icing sugar, butter and a pinch of salt in a bowl and rub until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg and mix just to bring the mixture together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate to chill (2-3 hours).
2.Roll out pastry on a lightly floured bench to 3mm thick and place it in a 4.5cm-deep, 20cm-diameter cake ring or springform tin on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to rest. Trim edges and dock with a fork.
3.Preheat oven to 170°C, then blind-bake pastry case for 15 minutes (see cook’s notes p182). Remove foil and weights, brush tart shell with lightly beaten egg and return to oven to just set (7 minutes).
4.Reduce oven to 130°C. Bring cream and vanilla to the boil in a saucepan. Lightly whisk eggs and sugar in a bowl, then, whisking continuously, pour hot cream into egg mixture. Transfer custard to a jug, then pour into tart shell and bake until set with a little wobble in the centre (20-25 minutes). Remove from oven, finely grate nutmeg over the top, leave to cool (about 1 hour), then serve. Custard tart is best served on the day it’s made but will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
