Baked Custard Tart - Recipe by Michael and Pippa James
Ingredients
730 g double (heavy) cream
95 g full-cream (whole) milk
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste)
225 g egg yolks
80 g caster (superfine) sugar
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
Method
Roll the pastry out into a large disc, 3 mm thick. Gently lay it over a 25 cm tart case and use your thumb to press it into the corners all the way around. Trim the excess off with a knife, leaving a little overhang to account for shrinkage, then rest it in the fridge for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 160 C Line the rested pastry case with baking paper and fill with dried beans, rice or coins to weigh the pastry down while you blind bake it. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the paper and weights and bake for another 5 minutes, until it’s a nice light golden colour. Reduce the oven temperature to 110 C.
Combine the cream, milk and vanilla in a medium saucepan over a low heat. Heat gently, stirring, until warm and combined. In a large mixing bowl, gently whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until combined. Pour the cream mixture slowly over the eggs and sugar, whisking to emulsify. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a measuring jug.
Line a tray with baking paper and place the tart shell on top. Place the tray in the oven, then gently pour in the custard and close the door. Bake for 40 minutes until just set. It should have a bit of wobble from the centre, out to a 3 cm-4 cm radius, with the edges more firmly set. Once it starts to set, check it every few minutes to avoid overcooking the custard.
Once cooled, grate the nutmeg over the top before serving.
