Hairy Bikers Custard Tart

A custard tart is the plainest bake in the British repertoire, and the Hairy Bikers custard tart keeps it that way on purpose. Crisp pastry, silky vanilla cream and a roof of grated nutmeg, and nothing else gets in.

Brilliant Bakes jokes that it is “much too good for throwing at anybody”, a wink at the old custard pie gag. Behind the wink they mean business, because they write there is simply nothing better, at about 795 calories a rich slice.

Silkiness is decided before the oven, since the whisked eggs must never fill with air. Hot cream pours in from a height and the custard passes through a sieve, so allow around three and a half hours for the whole tart.

Hairy Bikers Custard Tart Recipe

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:British Courses:Dessert

Difficulty:MediumPrep time: 30 minutesCook time:1 hour 20 minutesRest time:1 hour 30 minutesTotal time:3 hours 20 minutesServings:6 servingsCalories:795 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

An 18cm deep tart built the old way, with a rested shortcrust case baked blind before the filling ever appears. The custard is all cream and vanilla pod, then nutmeg covers the entire surface before a long, low bake.

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• Pinch of salt
• 125g butter, chilled and diced
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• Iced water

For the filling

• 500ml double or whipping cream
• 1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
• 4 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 60g caster sugar
• Nutmeg, for grating

Instructions

1. Make the pastry: Rub the butter into the flour and salt until it looks like fine breadcrumbs, then stir in the icing sugar. Mix the egg yolk with a tablespoon of iced water and drizzle it in, adding just enough extra iced water to bind, then knead gently until smooth.
2. Line the tin: Roll the pastry out on a floured surface until it fits an 18cm deep round tin. Push it well into the sides and leave a little overhang for trimming later, then chill it for at least an hour.
3. Blind bake: Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4, then line the case with parchment and baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the beans and paper, then bake another 5-10 minutes until lightly coloured, and turn the oven down to 150°C/Fan 130°C/Gas 2.
4. Heat the cream: Bring the cream to boiling point with the split vanilla pod, then take it off the heat. Whisk the eggs, yolks and sugar until just combined, because an airy mix makes an air-filled custard.
5. Combine and settle: Remove the vanilla pod, then pour the hot cream over the eggs from a height, stirring as you go. Leave the mixture to sit while the froth and bubbles subside.
6. Fill through a sieve: Set the case on a baking tray, then pour the custard through a sieve into the pastry. Grate over a generous amount of nutmeg, so the surface is completely covered.
7. Bake to a wobble: Bake for 45-60 minutes, until the custard is just set with a slight wobble in the centre. Cool before serving, because the custard keeps firming as it cools.

FAQs

How is their baked egg custard different from the tart?

It is the same idea without the pastry, and their Mums Know Best book actually treats them as one recipe. The custard bakes in a buttered dish sitting in a water bath, for just 25-30 minutes at 150°C.

The water bath is the difference, because it protects the custard the way pastry does in the tart. It then chills for 2 to 3 hours, so it slices clean like a set cream.

What does the Perfect Pies version do differently?

That one splits the dairy, using 300ml of cream and 300ml of milk, so it eats lighter than this all-cream tart. It also serves eight, and the book recommends a good deep Victoria sandwich tin for the best shape.

Their tip there carries over here too, since they say pastry baked blind until properly cooked lets the custard cook low with no curdling risk. Two books, one lesson, get the case right first.

How do they make Portuguese custard tarts?

With puff pastry and a story, because the book says Portuguese nuns starched their wimples with egg whites, then baked the leftover yolks into these tarts. Three yolks thicken a flour and milk custard, infused with vanilla and citrus peel.

A sugar syrup cooked to the short-thread stage then whisks in, which is the step that makes them Portuguese. If you end up with spare egg whites yourself, their pavlova turns four of them into a meringue nest.

Why does my custard tart curdle or turn watery?

Almost always the oven was too hot, because custard curdles the moment it cooks too fast. That is why this tart bakes at just 150°C after the case is done, and why you pull it while the centre still wobbles slightly.

The wobble looks underdone but is not, since the custard finishes setting as it cools. Waiting for a firm centre in the oven means an overcooked tart on the plate.

Why does the nutmeg cover the whole surface?

Because that solid layer of nutmeg is the signature of a proper English custard tart, in looks and in flavour. It toasts gently during the long bake, so every bite starts with spice before the cream underneath.

Grate it fresh from a whole nutmeg, since the pre-ground kind fades fast. For the fruit-topped cousin of this tart, their rhubarb and custard tart crowns the same style of custard with pink forced rhubarb, while their cheesy custard tarts swap the nutmeg for Parmesan and cayenne.