Thread: Egg Custard Tarts

Pastry ingredients

8oz Plain Flour
4oz Butter/Margarine
approx 1 oz White Sugar
Pinch Salt (optional)
Little Cold Water

Egg custard filling

1/2 Pint/300ml Milk (full fat)
2 Tbsp White Sugar
2 Medium Eggs
Grated Nutmeg




How to make pastry

Mix flour, sugar and salt(optional) together in a bowl.

Add margarine to the bowl and start to rub it all together using your thumbs and fingertips, keep doing this until your mixture looks like bread crumbs.

Keep adding a little cold water to your mixture until it forms a dough.

Make sure only a tiny amount of water is added at a time - mix well between adding each drop of water - pastry needs very little liquid.

On a floured top divide the pastry into four even pieces.

Grease and flour 4 small ramekin oven pots.

Roll each piece out to be larger than the oven pots in size, do not roll it out too thick but be sure it is not too thin.

Approximately one centimetre in thickness but use your own judgment for your sized oven dishes.

Place each rolled out pastry into the oven pots.

Gently push the pastry down into the middle and make the pastry as even as possible up the sides.

The pastry will over flow the oven pots.

Gently and loosely wrap each one up in plastic wrap and place into your fridge while you cook the egg custard filling.



For the egg custard filling

Place two eggs into a bowl/jug and whisk, an electric whisk is not necessary.

Preferably in a heavy based pan bring the 1/2 pint of milk and sugar to the boil then switch off.

Gently add milk to the eggs stiring all the time to stop the egg curdling.

You should be left with an almost runny type custard.

Leave the custard to cool a little the temperature should be neither hot nor cold.

If you pour the custard into a flat dish this helps it cool a lot quicker.

When egg custard filing is cooled enough take the pastry pots out of the fridge and discard the plastic wrap.

If the egg custard filling is not already in a jug, pour it into a jug here.

Pour an even amount of custard into each pastry case.

Take a small knife and gently cut off the excess pastry from the egg custards.

It is easier if you gently lean your knife edge onto the outer oven pot as you do it.

Grate fresh nutmeg on top of the egg custards , this helps them to set - only a little nutmeg is needed.

You can use the powdered nutmeg also.

The egg custards are ready for the oven.

Place the egg custards ont o the middle shelt of a hot oven at 170-180C.

Bake for 30-40 minutes.

To check if the egg custards are ready use the back of a spoon or your finger(only if your used to the hot touch) if they feel firm they are ready.

The pastry should be pale golden/golden brown, the egg custard filling can go a little golden brown on top this is normal, sometimes it doesn't this also is fine.

Take the custards out of the oven and place onto a cooling rack.

Once cooled a little you should be able to quickly tip the custards out of the oven pot, if still hot use a tea towel.

Place onto your cooling rack.



You can try eating them warm if you like, but the true way to eat an egg custard is to leave them to cool down and then place them in the fridge to go cold.

Make sure you wrap them in plastic wrap or cover them when they are in your fridge