RECIPE: English custard tart

For the pastry

250g softened butter

180g icing sugar

A drop of vanilla paste

2 lightly beaten eggs

500g plain flour, sieved

¼ tsp salt

Egg wash – 1 beaten egg, 1 tablespoon milk, pinch salt

In the bowl of a free-standing mixer, soften the butter to a paste using the paddle attachment.

Add the icing sugar and vanilla, cover the mixer with a tea towel to avoid a dust cloud, mix on a low speed until combined.

Add the eggs slowly, mixing between additions.

Add the flour in stages, with the salt incorporated. Once the pastry starts to come together, scrape it out from the bowl and massage it into a ball. Flatten into a patty then wrap with clingfilm or a beeswax wrap and chill for an hour before rolling out.

Grease and flour a ten-inch tart tin. Dust your work surfaces and rolling pin lightly with flour. Roll the pastry until it’s about 4mm, rolling it back on to your pin to move it around. You may find it easier to roll it between two sheets of baking parchment.

Roll the pastry up onto your rolling pin and lay it gently across the tart tin, ease the pastry into the tin, pressing it into the edge of the base as you go. Any holes, tears or splits can simply be pieced in with a spare piece of pastry. Trim the pastry around the rim of the tin, leaving a little overhang. Pop the lined tin in the fridge or freezer for at least half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Remove the pastry from the fridge, and prick the base several times with a fork. Line the pastry with a sheet of parchment, fill with baking beans and bake for around 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden, remove the beans and bake for a further two minutes before taking out of the oven. Leave to cool for five minutes before trimming the top of the pastry with a paring knife. Brush the tart base with egg wash and return to the oven for three minutes, check for any cracks or deep holes left by your fork and repeat the egg washing process or patch with a little unbaked pastry as necessary.

*Alternatively, you could use a pre-made shortcrust, or ready-made base... egg washing is essential though!

Turn down the oven to 150°C, if possible, turn the fan in your oven off, if not reduce the temperature to 140°C

For the custard

540ml double cream

270ml whole milk

1 tsp vanilla paste

9 egg yolks (large free range)

135g caster sugar

1 tsp rosewater

1 ¼ tsp cornflour

Nutmeg, to taste

Scald the milk, cream and vanilla in a pan, it should ‘shimmer’, in the pan not boil.

Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, rosewater and cornflour until light. Pour over half the cream and milk, whisk well before adding the remaining milk and cream.

Pass the custard through a fine sieve.

Place the tart shell on a tray in the oven. Using a jug, pour the custard into the tart shell. You can use a blow torch to remove any bubbles that may have appeared on the surface. Gently ease the shelf into the oven if you’ve pulled it forward to fill the pastry case. Bake for around 30-35 minutes. When the tart is cooked, it should still have a wobble (not a wave) in the centre.

Grate nutmeg over the top of the tart whilst still warm.

Leave to cool in the tin before turning out.

Sophie Smith owns BakeHouse in the Barn in Hovingham, preparing puddings and sweets to order. Sophie attends Hovingham and Coxwold village markets on the first and last Saturday of the month respectively. See facebook and Instagram for details.