Easy Portuguese Custard Tarts recipe made with fresh custard from scratch that you can use in so many recipes.
Basic Custard
Ingredients
300ml pure cream
300ml milk
6 egg yolks
2 tablespoons cornflour
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
Method
Combine cream and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to just a simmer.
Meanwhile, whisk yolks, cornflour, vanilla and sugar together in a large heatproof bowl. Gradually whisk in the hot cream mixture until smooth.
Return mixture to cleaned saucepan and place over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until custard thickens and thickly coats the back of a spoon. Set aside to cool slightly.
Portuguese Tarts
Ingredients
2 sheets puff pastry, just thawed
1 quantity basic custard, chilled
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Method
Preheat oven to 210°C/190°C fan-forced. Lightly spray 18 holes of two 12-hole, 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity muffin tins with oil
Cut each pastry sheet in half to form 2 long rectangles and place on top of each other to make 2 stacks. Starting from a long side, roll up each pastry stack to form a log. Cut each log into 9 slices
Flatten each pastry disc out in the palm of your hand with your fingers until about 3mm thick. Press the pastry into the prepared muffin moulds and chill for 20 minutes (this helps to prevent pastry shrinkage)
Stir lemon zest and cinnamon into custard. Spoon custard into pastry cases. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until custard is golden and pastry is golden and crisp. Set aside in tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Best served warm
