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.

Crunchy Bran Biscuits

There’s nothing like a biscuit with a dual purpose. You can eat these just as they are - crunchy, nutty (in a no-nuts kind of way) and wholesome – but because they’re not too sweet they make a fine match with cheese.  This was how I preferred them.  A thick smear of good butter (shall I mention Lewis Road again?) and a wedge of Double Cream Brie and it was all good.  So good I had another, and then another.  It reminded me of eating McVitie’s digestive biscuits with butter and cheddar, which I sometimes still do.  Thankfully I don’t have my mother’s fondness for blue cheese and jam toppings but you're welcome to go ahead and try that too! 

I thought it especially nice to have home baked biscuits with cheese instead of the ubiquitous rice crackers, which I used like but now find I’m getting heartily sick of. 

On top of their versatility the bran biscuits are easy to bake and quick to rustle up.  Some time I should try making my own oat biscuits too.

Crunchy bran biscuits 

100g butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup milk

1 cup standard flour

1 cup wheat bran

3 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 180°C

Lightly grease two baking trays or line with baking paper.

Beat the butter, sugar and milk together until well mixed.

Stir in the flour, bran and baking powder and bring together to form a dough.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface.  At this stage, because I wanted oblong shaped biscuits, I shaped the dough into a log which I then “squared off” on four sides and cut into thin slices (I have to admit this was a bit fiddly).  If you prefer, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to about 2mm thick and use a biscuit cutter to cut into round shapes.

Place the biscuits on the trays and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until crispy and brown.

Transfer to a cake rack to cool.