Portugese Tarts

Portugese tarts are creamy, baked custard tarts in a crisp pastry shell.  They're super easy and are just so delicious that you will want to make more. I know this as I only made a few (which was probably just as well) but made me feel sad on the day.  I made them several weeks ago and, as usual, had not got around to posting them on the blog until now. I’ve been distracted by having a little fling with Instagram. It’s very tempting to just snap a photo, post it with very few words and hey presto there’s your story. No writer’s block involved nor, for that matter, much styling. But it is nice to come back to the blog now and again.

If you’re a perfectionist, you’ll want to know in advance that the custardy filling does sag a little after baking. But hey the taste is the thing here so let's just let that one go, okay?

Before starting, bear in mind there's an hour's chilling time once you've placed the pastry circles in the tin.

Add a sprinkle of cinnamon if you want, it’s in most recipes, but I left it out as I’d just made a chocolate cake which contained cinnamon and the taste came through quite strongly.  As noted in the recipe below, I had no single cream so used double cream - double yummy I think! Well worth doing again ... and again.

Portugese Tarts

Serves 9

2 sheets frozen puff pastry
1 egg
2 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
300ml cream*
100ml standard/full cream milk
a couple of strips of orange peel (I used mandarin)
vanilla bean

*I used the wonderful Lewis Road double cream as I didn't have single cream.


Remove pastry from freezer to defrost.

Lightly spray 9 holes of a 12-hole tart tin with oil or grease lightly with butter.

Using a 9cm diameter cookie cutter (or top of a glass or a lid) cut 9 circles out of the pastry and press gently into the holes to fit. Place in the fridge to chill for an hour.

Meanwhile, make the custard by placing the egg, two egg yolks, caster sugar and cornflour in a medium saucepan (don't turn heat on yet) and stir to combine. Add the milk and cream and stir again. Add orange or mandarin peel and whole vanilla bean and heat gently, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and just comes to the boil.

Remove from heat, discard peel and vanilla bean (this can be rinsed, dried and used again). Transfer custard to a pouring jug and cover the top of the custard with plastic wrap to stop it from forming a skin. Leave to cool completely.

Heat oven to 220°C. Divide mixture evenly between the pastry cases and bake 20-25 minutes until pastry and custard are just starting to colour.

Remove from the oven, leave in tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

These are best eaten on the same day at room temperature. Actually, these are best eaten - full stop.

Asparagus Tarts

If it's Spring (in New Zealand anyway), it must be asparagus season. 

Being a semi-reluctant vegetable eater, I like my vegetables adorned with extras (think cauliflower in a cheese sauce), so I usually roast asparagus with olive oil, garlic and lemon zest (see below). Taking this embellishment a (big) step further, I'm delighted to say they taste just wonderful in this creamy filling wrapped in a rich pastry.

These tarts are ideal for lunch (or a simple supper dish). Serve with a lightly dressed salad of bitter greens such as rocket, red leaf lettuce, watercress, radicchio and endive, for contrast.

Asparagus Tarts 

Pastry

350g plain flour

½ tsp salt

200g butter

4-5 tbsp cold water

Filling

1 bunch cooked asparagus*

300ml single cream

2 egg yolks

sea salt & ground pepper

pinch nutmeg or freshly grated nutmeg

* For extra flavour, I roast mine in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil, crushed garlic and lemon zest for 12-15 minutes but you can boil the spears lightly in salted water until tender.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.

Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl.  Add 175g of the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips.  Add the water and bind to a dough.

Roll the dough out on to a lightly floured board and cut to the size of your tart tins. I used four mini tart tins with a base diameter of 8.5cm and a top diameter of 11.5cm. 

Line the base of the tins with a circle of baking paper (I do this even though I use non-stick tins - just in case!).  Using a fork, prick the base of each tart then place the tart tins on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Remove the tray with the tart tins from the oven while you prepare the filling.  Turn the oven down to 180 degrees C. 

Cut the asparagus to fit and divide between the tins.  Whisk the cream and egg yolks together and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Pour the mix carefully and evenly amongst the tins. Depending on the size of your tins, you may have some left over.

Return the tarts to the oven and bake for 15 minutes until filling has set.  The filling should be just set and no more.

Serve with a lightly dressed salad of bitter greens.

Chocolate Caramel Banoffee Tarts

Fridays, I have off.  I have had to train myself to go and do something I enjoy on these days otherwise  I can fritter the time away at home accomplishing what feels like nothing (even though it is not).  So I took off today to Ruben in Parnell Road.  Except I couldn't find it (incorrect street number on referring blogs) even though I wandered up and down a few times.  Fortunately I'd already spied Vaniye where I'd purchased some croissants for the weekend so I returned for a second time that morning and sat in their small but tastefully elegant space with a crisp, buttery almond croissant in all its gorgeousness and a good coffee.

Later I headed across town to the Capitol Cinema to take in the movie, Frances Ha, which I'd spotted but not had a chance to get to at the recent Auckland Film Festival.  It was funny to hear the elderly woman behind me commenting at the closing credits "well that was a lot about not much at all".  We were probably not the film's target audience age group really but the lead actress plays her part so endearingly well that she won me over.  Filmed in black and white and with nods to Woody Allen, it was amusing and sometimes awkward as it follows the late-twenties Frances as she tries to find her way in life (and homes).

What all this has to do with chocolate banoffee pies, I have no idea, except I had no other way of introducing them so I decided to waffle on about what I'd done today.

After our food bloggers' afternoon tea, I promised I'd share this recipe so here it is. This is the first time I've ever made banoffee pies (or in this case, chocolate caramel banoffee tarts) but I can assure you it will not be the last.  They are very tasty and not too decadent as they are only a mouthful or two!

If you make the tart shells ahead of time (they will keep for a couple of days in an airtight tin) it makes for a reasonably easy assembly on the day of eating.  I am sure they will also freeze well too.

The recipe used mini-muffin tins for cooking.  However I found these made tiny cases that were too small for the filling and the pastry too thick so I used tart tins.  Leave the banana slices and cream topping until you are ready to serve (brushing a teensy bit of lemon juice on the banana will stop it from  browning).

I'm sharing this recipe at Sweet New Zealand, hosted this month by Sweets & Brains.

Chocolate Caramel Banoffee Tarts

1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour
1/4 cup (40g) icing sugar
1/4 cup (25g) cocoa powder
185g (6oz) cold butter, chopped coarsely
1 egg yolk
2 tsp iced water
1 small banana
1/3 cup (80ml) whipped cream

chocolate caramel filling

60g (2oz) butter, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup (55g) brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup (300g) sweetened condensed milk
30g (1oz) good quality dark chocolate, chopped coarsely
2 tsp golden syrup or treacle


Place the sifted flour, sugar, cocoa and butter in a food processor and process until crumbly.  With motor running, add egg yolk and enough of the iced water to make ingredients cling together.  Turn the dough onto a floured surface (it will be still be crumbly) and knead gently until smooth.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Grease two 12-hole tart tins.  Roll out half the pastry between two sheets of plastic wrap or baking paper until just under 5mm (1/4 thick).  Cut out rounds to fit the holes in your tart tins (use the thin rim of a round wine glass or drinking glass to cut if you don't have anything else - just not your expensive crystal and a heavy fist!).

Ease the pastry neatly into the holes.  Repeat the process with the other half of pastry.  Prick the bases of the tarts with a fork and refrigerate again for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C.  Bake cases for about 12 minutes - watch carefully to ensure the tops do not burn.  Remove from the oven and leave in the tins for 5 minutes before removing to a cake rack to cool.  The cases can be made two days ahead.  Store in an airtight container if you are not going to use immediately.

chocolate caramel filling

Stir the butter and sugar in a small saucepan over a low heat until the sugar dissolves.  Add the condensed milk and stir for 5 minutes or until the mixture boils and thickens (make sure it does not catch on the bottom of the saucepan).

Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate and golden syrup (or treacle) until smooth.  Remove from the heat.

Divide the hot caramel filling into the pastry cases.  Leave to cool and then refrigerate for 1 hour.

When ready to serve, place a slice of banana on top of each tart (brush very lightly with lemon juice if they will be sititng for a while - this stops the banana going brown) and then either pipe or dollop some whipped cream on the top.  Dust with sifted cocoa powder if you wish.