You Tart

I love the simplicity of the Donny Hay Magazine. Everything looks so effortless and yet so beautiful. The stylists have a way of making all the dishes look so appealing. As I mentioned previously I got a present of a years subscription to this magazine and I love when it arrives. In the recent magazine there was a feature titled “Inspired Blossoms” where desserts are inspired by delicate flowers. I noticed that Chubby Hubby also did a post on one of the desserts in this section for roasted strawberry Meringues. I opted for the custard tarts as J is a big fan of these. They looked so beautiful. They were simple to make and they tasted great – my kind of dessert. Being able to buy frozen pastry makes desserts like this so easy to put together.

I made the tarts on Friday and as we were heading off on Saturday for a weekend away in the Blue Mountains (more on that later) there was no other choice for it but to finish them for breakfast before we hit the road. Not often you get a sweet treat like this to set you off for the day ahead.

My own notes on these tarts are

(a) I should pay more attention to the ingredients listed in the recipe because I used way more than 3 sheets of filo pastry but that said they still tasted great.

(b) Don't refrigerate the custard for too long or it solidifies too much and doesn't look as good when you pour it into the pastry cases

(c) The pasrty goes soft if you leave the custard in it for a while

Vanilla custard tarts

3 sheets filo pastry
50g unsalted butter, melted
caster (superfine) sugar for sprinkling

Vanilla custard
1 ½ cups (12 fI oz) (single or pouring) cream
1 vanilla bean, split (or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste)
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar
1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
2 tablespoons water

To make the vanilla custard, place the cream and vanilla bean in a small saucepan over medium heat until the cream is hot but not boiling. Whisk the egg yolks and the sugar in a bowl until thick and creamy. In a separate bowl, whish the cornflour and water to combine. Discard the vanilla bean. Slowly whisk the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture, add the cornflour mixture and return to the saucepan. Stir over a low heat for 5-8 mins or until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Brush one pastry sheet with the butter and sprinkle with the sugar and top with another pastry sheet. Continue layering the pastry with the butter and sugar.

Use a round cookie cutter to cut out circles from the pastry. Press the pastry into lightly creased muffin tins. Bake for 5-6 mins or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

To serve, spoon the custard into the cases.