Snack

Portuguese Custard Tarts

Name: Portuguese Custard Tarts
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 90 min
Cuisine: Portuguese
Ingredients: 2 tbs plain flour, for dusting; 2 tbs icing sugar, for dusting, plus more for serving; 375g puff pastry, rolled out; 250g caster sugar; 2 strips lemon, zested into strips; 1 stick cinnamon stick; 2 eggs, whisked; 4 egg yolks eggs, separated for yolks and whisked; 50g cornflour; 500ml whole milk; vanilla pod, seeds scraped out, pod of; ground cinnamon, for dusting, to serve; 200ml water

Crisp puff-pastry tartlets filled with silky cinnamon, lemon and vanilla custard, baked until golden and lightly caramelized.

1 hr 30 min
140 kcal
Vegetarian
Portuguese
Dessert

Mellowpan tip: Makes 24 servings, plenty to share.

Get the shopping list

Ingredients

For 24 servings

Steps

Step 1:
Mix the flour and icing sugar, and use the mixture to dust the work surface.
Step 2:
Roll out the puff pastry into a 45 x 30cm rectangle.
Step 3:
Roll the pastry up lengthways to create a long sausage shape.
Step 4:
Cut the pastry into 24 wheels, each about 1–2cm thick.
Step 5:
Lightly roll each pastry wheel with a rolling pin to fit two 12-hole non-stick fairy cake tins.
Step 6:
Press the pastry circles into the tins and mould them into thin cases.
Step 7:
Chill the pastry cases until needed.
Step 8:
Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7.
Step 9:
Bring the caster sugar, water, lemon zest strips and cinnamon stick to the boil to make a sugar syrup.
Step 10:
Reduce the syrup until syrupy, then allow it to cool.
Step 11:
Remove the cinnamon stick and lemon zest from the cooled syrup.
Step 12:
Whisk the eggs, egg yolks and cornflour until smooth in another large pan.
Step 13:
Heat the whole milk and vanilla pod seeds in a separate pan until just below the boil.
Step 14:
Gradually pour the hot milk over the egg and cornflour mixture.
Step 15:
Cook over a low heat, whisking continuously.
Step 16:
Add the cooled sugar syrup to the custard and whisk until it thickens slightly.
Step 17:
Pour the custard through a sieve.
Step 18:
Pour the strained custard into the pastry cases.
Step 19:
Bake for 15 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the custard has darkened.
15 min
Step 20:
Cool completely in the tins.
Step 21:
Sift icing sugar and ground cinnamon over the tarts to serve.