Custard Tart

Pastry: Put the flour, salt and the butter in a food processor and pulse to coarse crumbs. Combine the egg yolk and water, drizzle over the flour and pulse to just bring together. Tip onto the bench and bring the dough together gently with your hands. Form into a flat disc, wrap and chill until firm.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured board and line a 24 cm loose- based tart tin, 3.5 cm deep. Make sure there are no holes in the pastry or the custard will leak. Refrigerate or freeze until firm. Line the tart with baking paper and baking beans – see below. Bake 20 minutes then remove the paper and the beans and return the tart case to the oven for another 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Reduce the oven to 130°C.

Filling: Put the milk and the cream in a saucepan and heat until warm. Do not allow it to boil. Lightly whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl then whisk in the milk and cream. Place the tart case on a baking tray and pour the custard through a sieve into the case. Grate over a thin layer of nutmeg. Carefully transfer to the oven and bake 25-30 minutes or until still a little wobbly in the centre. Remove and cool to room temperature before removing from the tin.

To bake blind: line a prepared pastry case with baking paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans (the beans support the pastry as it cooks). Bake in a preheated hot oven (190°C-200°C) for 10-20 minutes before removing the paper and weights. The shell should now have taken form so reduce the temperature to 175°C and cook until completely cooked and golden.

Baking beans are ceramic or metal ‘beads’ which can be re-used over and over again. Available from cookware stores.