Creme Brulee Tart
This is the perfect pudding for preparing ahead with sweet custard offset by refreshing clementines.
Use 1½ x 375 g packs of ready-made chilled dessert pastry if you wish instead.
Serves: 8 - 10
Preparation: 30 minutes + overnight chilling
Plus: Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 large quantity Sweet Flan Pastry
- 6 Egg Yolks
- 150 g Caster Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cornflour
- 900 ml Double Cream
- 6 small Clementines, peeled and thinly sliced, peel reserved
Method
- Put a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
- Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 3 mm thick, then use it to line a 23 cm loose-based, fluted flan tin, about 4.5-5 cm deep.
- Prick the base with a fork and pop in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Line the pastry case with a sheet of foil, pressing it gently into the curves of the tin and folding it down carefully over the outside.
- Fill with baking beans and bake on the baking sheet for 15 minutes.
- Remove the foil and beans, then bake for a further 5-10 minutes or until the pastry is firm and pale golden brown around the edges. If necessary, use a little beaten egg to brush over any cracks and return to the oven for 2-3 minutes to seal.
- Beat together the egg yolks, 75 g of sugar and the cornflour.
- Put the cream in a saucepan with a handful of clementine peel and bring up to the boil.
- Strain over the egg mixture, stirring all the time. Return the mixture to the saucepan and stir over a gentle heat for 10 minutes. Bring to a simmer, without boiling, and pour into the pastry case.
- Chill overnight, uncovered, to set.
- Preheat the grill to hot. Sprinkle a foil-lined baking sheet with the remaining caster sugar, put under the grill and heat for 4-5 minutes until the sugar caramelises. Immediately tilt the baking sheet from side to side so that the caramel covers the foil in a thin layer. Leave to set then break into shards.
- Arrange the clementine slices around the outside edge of the tart and sprinkle the sugar 'glass' in the centre.
Tips
For a variation Stir 50 g of finely chopped stem ginger into the hot custard before baking.
This recipe is from perfect Pies & Tarts by M Fraser published by Simon & Schuster 2011 ISBN 978-0-85720-355-7.
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