The Hairy Bikers cheesy custard tarts are small savoury bakes with Parmesan in the pastry and Gruyère in the filling. Brilliant Bakes designed them for handing round at parties, so the sweetness is swapped for garlic, thyme and a pinch of cayenne.
Brilliant Bakes calls them “a real treat for those who don’t have a sweet tooth”, built for buffet tables and canapés with drinks. Each little tart carries about 405 calories, so one batch of twelve feeds a proper party.
The custard must cool completely before the egg yolks go in, because warm cream would start cooking them early. Get that right, and twenty minutes at a low heat sets twelve gently wobbling savoury custards.
Hairy Bikers Cheesy Parmesan Custard Tarts Recipe
Description
Twelve savoury tarts from a muffin tin, with cheese worked into the pastry itself so the cases stay sturdy in the hand. The filling is an infused cream custard, finished with reserved Parmesan and a dusting of cayenne.
Ingredients
For the pastry
For the custard filling
Instructions
- Make the cheese pastry: Rub the butter and lard into the flour and salt until it looks like fine breadcrumbs, then stir in the Parmesan. Add the egg yolk and just enough iced water for a dough that is firm but still soft enough to roll.
- Cut and chill: Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Roll out the pastry and cut 12 rounds of 10-12cm, then line a 12-hole muffin tin and chill for at least half an hour.
- Blind bake the cases: Line each case with parchment and baking beans, then bake for 10-15 minutes until set. Remove the beans and paper, bake 5 minutes more, then leave to cool.
- Infuse the cream: Heat both creams very gently with the garlic and thyme until just at blood temperature, then leave to infuse for 10 minutes.
- Melt in the cheese: Keep a tablespoon of Parmesan back for the tops, then stir the rest of the cheeses into the cream over a very low heat until melted. Season with salt and a very little white pepper, then cool completely before beating in the egg yolks.
- Fill and bake: Turn the oven down to 160°C/Fan 140°C/Gas 3, then strain the custard through a sieve into a jug and pour it into the cases. Sprinkle over the reserved Parmesan and a little cayenne, then bake for about 20 minutes until just set with a slight wobble.
- Serve at room temperature: Let the tarts cool down, because the book says they are at their best served at room temperature.
FAQs
Why is the pastry thicker than usual?
On purpose, because the book makes these cases sturdier so they can be picked up and eaten from the hand. A thin case would crumble at a buffet, while this one holds its custard through a whole party.
The lard matters here too, since it shortens the pastry differently from butter alone. Together with the Parmesan worked into the dough, the case brings flavour rather than just holding the filling.
Why does the cream heat to only blood temperature?
Because this step is an infusion, not a cooking stage, and gentle warmth pulls the garlic and thyme flavour into the cream without splitting it. Ten minutes of standing does the rest.
The cheese then melts in over the lowest possible heat, so the mixture stays smooth. Anything hotter turns melted cheese grainy, and grainy custard cannot be fixed later.
Which cheeses work in the custard?
The book lists “Gruyère or similar hard cheese” in the ingredients, so the swap is built in. Comté, Emmental or a mature Cheddar all melt the same way, which means the custard sets identically.
Keep the Parmesan, though, because it appears twice, in the pastry and on top. That double layer is what makes these taste properly cheesy rather than vaguely creamy.
Can I make them ahead for a party?
They suit it well, because the book serves them at room temperature anyway, not hot from the oven. Bake them earlier in the day, then let them sit and settle before guests arrive.
The pastry cases can go even earlier, since they blind bake and cool before the filling ever appears. That splits the work into two easy sessions, which is exactly what a buffet cook needs.
Do the Hairy Bikers make sweet custard tarts too?
Several, and the technique barely changes, because the slight wobble at the end of baking is the rule on both sides of the sugar line. Their classic custard tart bakes all-cream vanilla custard under a nutmeg crust.
For the fruit-topped version, their rhubarb and custard tart finishes the same silky custard with pink forced rhubarb. Same family, three very different plates.
