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A period dish

Custard Tart

A pastry case filled with a lightly set egg custard, dusted with nutmeg and baked until just firm.

Serves 12

Custard tarts were sold in the streets and served at feasts, and the trick was always the same: a slow oven and a custard barely set, so that it trembled rather than cracked.

Ingredients

Produce

  • 1 lemon

Dairy & Eggs

  • 2 cup cream
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks

Pantry / Durable

  • 1/3 cup sugar

Spices & Seasoning

  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Other

  • 1 shortcrust pastry

Method

  1. Line small tart cases with short pastry and blind-bake them until pale gold.

  2. Warm the cream with a little sugar, a strip of lemon peel, and a grating of nutmeg.

  3. Beat the eggs and yolks together, then pour the warm cream over them slowly, whisking constantly.

  4. Strain the custard and fill the pastry cases three-quarters full.

  5. Bake at a low heat until the custard is set at the edge but still soft in the centre. Cool before serving.

Adapted from The Compleat Housewife. View a published recipe at BBC Good Food (opens in a new tab)

Served at

The music of the spheres · Prague, Bohemia

Dinner at Trinity · Cambridge, England