A simple tart with a flaky pastry, a delicious custard, and a handful of berries sprinkled on top. Finish with a dusting of icing sugar for a delectable dessert everyone will love.
Ingredients
FOR THE PASTRY
- 270g all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 170g cold cubed butter
- 10ml vinegar
- 60ml ice cold water
FOR THE CUSTARD
- 500ml milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 60g sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 5 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp butter
TO FINISH
- large handful of berries
- dusting of icing sugar
Method
- Make the pastry: In a food processor, add the flour, half of the butter and a pinch of salt. Pulse until the mixture resembles the consistency of sand. Add the rest of the butter and continue to pulse until you see chunks of butter throughout. Then add the vinegar and half the water. If the mixture easily comes together, then remove it from the food processor and press it down into a disk. If it doesn’t come together, simply add a splash of water. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the pastry. Transfer to a buttered tart tin, pressing down on the pastry so it’s flat against the sides and bottom. Use a rolling pin and roll over the entire tin to remove any overhang. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Once done, prick the base with a fork and line with parchment paper and beans to blind bake the pastry. Bake in the oven at 350°F for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the beans and parchment paper and continue to bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- Make the custard: In a large saucepan, heat the milk with the vanilla. In the meantime, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a separate bowl. Then, gradually whisk in the cornstarch. Keep whisking until you have a smooth consistency. Once the milk is heated, gradually add a few ladles to the egg mixture to temper it. Keep whisking while you do this. Once done, transfer that mixture back into the large saucepan with the remainder of the milk. Keep mixing until it thickens. Remove from the heat, then whisk in the butter.
- Transfer the custard into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap is touching the surface of the custard. Place in the fridge and let cool completely.
- Once the pastry is out of the oven, let it cool completely before spreading the custard on top. Finish with the berries and a dusting of icing sugar.
- Slice and enjoy!
