Vanilla Custard Tarts

Custard tarts might be considered a classic British dish, however their development is intimately connected with the French pie, that the word itself comes from the old French "croustade", meaning a kind of pie.

Some other names for varieties of custard tarts in the Middle Ages were doucettes and darioles.

Recipes for custard tarts existed as early as the 14th century. They are quite similar to a quiche in most respects, except that the custard filling itself is sweet.

Variations on the classic recipe include the Manchester tart, where a layer of jam is spread on the pastry before the custard is added. Other versions may have some fresh fruit, such as rhubarb cooked into the filling. Versions topped with elaborate arrangements of fruit show the influence of French patisserie.

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Prep Time: 20 + 20 mins Total Time: 1 hour (plus) Makes: 12 tarts Ingredients: Method of Preparation: For the pastry: 2 cups plain flour 1/4 cup icing sugar 1/2 cup chilled butter 1 egg Little cold milk 1 egg white For the custard: 2 cups whipping cream 3 eggs 3/4 cup caster sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract grated nutmeg Rub flour and butter to fine breadcrumbs. Add sugar and eggs and knead lightly. Chill in the fridge for 20 mins. Roll pastry to 2mm thick and cut 12 rounds of pastry. Line a muffin/tart pan with the pastry. Cover with baking paper and fill with baking beans. 'Blind Bake' for 10 minutes at 180 deg. Discard the baking beans and bake tarts for another 10 mins. Cool the tarts shells. Brush the insides of the shells with egg white. Whisk together the ingredients for the custard, except the nutmeg. Pour little custard into each shell and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake at 160 deg for 30 mins or till the custard sets. Personal Notes: These tarts are best served at room temperature. For variations, try using cocoa powder in the custard (combine 2 tbsps cocoa powder and some hot milk, cool it before adding to the cream). Sprinkle the tarts with grated chocolate, after they have baked and cooled. Another variation is to add grated lemon zest to the vanilla custard (before baking) for a lemony flavour. Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custard_tart More Recipes: http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes.aspx?WithTerm=custard+tart Google Images: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=custard+tart Google Book Search: http://books.google.com/books?q=custard+tart Courtesy: CrazyaboutBaking.blogspot.com

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