Egg custart tart

Egg custard tart is regarded as another classic of British cuisine. Often described as favourite pastry in the British Isles, custard tarts are widely sold in supermarkets and bakeries throughout the UK. The history of egg tart reaches back to the Middle Ages. It’s usually associated with Medieval recipes for croustade, doucettes and darioles- old French custard pies consisting of shortcrust pastry shell filled with mixture of cream, milk and eggs, enriched with honey and spices. Modern egg custard tarts base on very similar formula. Apart from Britain custard tarts are widely enjoyed in Commonwealth countries like Australia and New Zealand. Also other countries have their regional equivalents. Most popular are French Flans pâtissier, Portuguese Pastel de nata or Dan Tat- speciality of Hong Kong cuisine. 

Ingredients:

200g short crust pastry

4 large eggs

1 pint whole milk

2 oz sugar

Large pinch or ground nutmeg

• Preheat the oven to 190C. Roll out the pastry and line the flat tin. Press the pastry into the tin (Trim the edges of the tart with a sharp serrated knife.) Fill the pastry with baking beans. Blind bake for approx. 15- 20 minutes, until golden and sandy all over. 

• Whisk the eggs lightly with the sugar.
• Warm up the milk and pour it in continuous stream onto the eggs, whisking lightly. Strain into the pastry case and sprinkle the top with nutmeg.

• Bake in the centre of the oven at mark 7 for 10 minutes and then reduce the heat to mark 4 and bake for a further 20-25 minutes until the custard is set.
• When it's ready, the tart should be set and pale golden on the top, and have just the merest tremor in the centre when you jiggle the tray. Cool completely, then serve in slices. Enjoy!