Custard tarts recipe

These delicious smooth custard tarts are so simple to make. Wrapped in a crisp, buttery pastry, this recipe combines the soft custard with shortcrust pastry to make a wonderful mix of flavours and textures. If you are making these for a special occasion they are the perfect thing to decorate with fruit and icing sugar to impress your friends and family.

Ingredients

• Half a 375g pack of sweet shortcrust pastry
• 175g (6oz) golden caster sugar
• 30g (1oz) plain flour
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• Few drops of vanilla extract
• 200ml (7fl oz) milk
• 3 medium egg yolks
• 2 tsps ground nutmeg
• Baking tray

Equipment

:

• 7.5cm (3in) round cutter
• 12-hole muffin tin, greased

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
2. Roll out the pastry thinly on a lightly floured surface and cut out rounds. Re-roll trimmings and cut out more rounds until you have 12 in total. Use to line the patty tins, and prick the bases with a fork. Chill while you make the filling. 
   
3. Whisk the egg yolks with the caster sugar.
   
4. Mix the flour, cornflour and vanilla with 3 tbsp milk to make a smooth paste. Pour the rest of the milk into the pan and bring to the boil, then add flour mixture a little at a time, whisking to combine. Turn off the heat and whisk into the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla mixture. Return the mixture to the pan and simmer, stirring until thickened and smooth. Cool for 5 mins.
5. Spoon this mixture into the pastry cases. Bake above the centre of the oven for 25 mins until the filling is set. Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes, Sprinkle with nutmeg and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.