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.

Creme Caramel - slow baked

I have had a severe multi-dose of procrastination, indecisiveness and writer's block - all of which I am going to use as my excuse for the long gap from the last post. It's not all hopeless. I got over the indecisiveness when I ticked the voting paper today for the NZ general election.  I also knew whether I would have voted aye or nae for Scottish independence but sadly expat Scots, who really still care about their beloved country's future, were not given the vote.

Back home when I was a child I would not have given the vote to creme caramels.  I hated them with a passion and don't remember why.  I think it was just the taste, which is everything really.

Late last year in Ortolana restaurant, I ordered a salted caramel flan and got it into my head that I was ordering a pastry tart filled with custard and strawberries (I know, I'm a little mixed up at times). I had to be convinced I had ordered it when it arrived and glumly tried it.  It was nice in the way that it was better than I'd expected but wasn't quite what I'd had in mind.

So it still seems a little strange that I'd want to make these creme caramels, but I had half a tin of sweetened condensed milk I wanted to use and, bingo, saw this recipe and thought "why not?". (Be assured I don't vote for political parties in the same flippant manner.)

The result is that the caramel sauce worked (I thought I'd burnt it at first), the custard set, they were easy to bake and looked pretty good (but would look much prettier with some added decoration e.g. fresh or marinated strawberries which I didn't have). 

Once baked, they just had to languish overnight in the fridge. Ideal for do-ahead desserts. Oh, and I did like them and can't imagine why I didn't before?

Creme Caramels

Makes 4

1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 a 400g tin of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Turn your slow cooker onto the HIGH setting.  Pour in 2 cups of hot tap water.  

Lightly spray or grease 4 ramekins, cups or small bowls (which can hold 3/4 cup of water). Check beforehand that they fit in the slow cooker (I used two upturned tiny soy sauce bowls to allow two of the ramekins to be at a different level so they would all fit in).

For the caramel: Heat the sugar over moderate heat in a medium saucepan, preferably with a pouring spout.  DO NOT STIR.  Tilt the pan carefully to ensure all the sugar melts evenly and turns golden brown. As soon as it reaches that stage and still without stirring, pour equal amounts into the bottoms of the ramekins.

Place the eggs, milk, condensed milk and vanilla into a mixing jug or bowl and beat until combined but not frothy. Pour this mixture through a fine sieve into the ramekins.

Carefully place the filled ramekins into the slow cooker.  Put the lid back on the slow cooker and turn the setting to LOW. Cook for 4 hours or until custards set.

Once set, turn off the slow cooker and carefully lift out the bowls.  Cover with plastic film and leave overnight in the fridge.  Remove from the fridge half an hour before serving.

To turn out the custards, run a small palette knife or similar, around the top.  I turned them out onto a flat, stainless steel pastry scraper so I could easily transfer them to a serving plate. Otherwise you can scoop them out onto your hand (I did not trust myself with this!).

And there you have it, a caramel topped custard with a pool of caramel sauce.

Recipe from Slow Cookers & Crockpots by Simon & Alison Holst




This is my entry for September's Sweet New Zealand hosted by Karen at Mummy Do It (I remember those words!).

Creamy Orange Ice Blocks

They say never work with children or animals.  Well, I’m adding ice cream sticks to that. While they might not cause as much destruction as tiny tots or pets, it's only a matter of time before it all turns to custard (literally).   

So, with an eensy weensy frame of opportunity to photograph on a hot day, I quickly took 10 consecutive snaps before the ice blocks melted.  Setting up the styling in advance without the star attraction did help, but even so it sure didn't take too long for those little blocks to start disintegrating.

I then had a few messy minutes attempting to squeeze custardy melts into some resemblance of their original shape and back snugly in their moulds.  Don’t suppose there’s any takers for them now?

Although they were fiddly in a photographic sense, they are oh so  simple to make. Despite having cut out this recipe donkey’s years ago, I'd never really given much thought to making ice blocks but, after a few hot and humid days here, I thought I’d give them a go.

These are creamy and custardy with a hint of orange (I'd add more orange zest next time). Not quite as refreshing as a fruity ice block but nevertheless they'd be a cool alternative to dessert on a hot day or simply as a ‘rescue me’ package after a long, hot drive.

I was unable to source sophisticated, classy moulds for these so, apart from one grown-up wooden stick, children’s popsicle moulds it is! 

In the end, I had more mix than I had ice block moulds, so I poured the remainder (after adding a shot of Malibu coconut liqueur to it!) in a small oval container (similar to a mini-loaf tin), lined with cling wrap and popped it in the freezer.   That may do as a dessert one evening.

Creamy Orange Ice Blocks 

400g carton chilled custard (I used Vanilla Custard)

grated zest and juice of 3 small oranges (use more zest if you like)

250g mascarpone cheese

175g icing sugar

In a food processor, mix all the ingredients until smooth. Pour into the moulds and tap gently on the work surface to release any air bubbles.  Insert the sticks and freeze until required.  Yes, it is that simple.

This is the difficult part.  To remove, dip the moulds briefly in hot water and gently ease the blocks out. 

Serve individually as required, or arrange on a bowl of ice and decorate with some extra orange zest grated on top for a summer dessert.  Quick, before it melts!

I can’t think of a more summery, sweet New Zealand than this, so it’s my entry for this month’s Sweet New Zealand, hosted by someone who lives not too far from me but who I haven’t yet met, Arfi at HomeMadeS.

cranberry and custard scones

To think I could have been indulging in these scones for years – six to be exact.  For that is how long the recipe has been languishing in my folder.  Unused.  Unloved.  Until now.

I’ve passed over this recipe many times.  Not because they didn’t look lovely – large scones oozing with custard and drizzled with icing – but because I thought they’d be time consuming.  Whipping up a batch of scones is one thing, but custard and icing too?  Sigh … if only I’d known.

Well now I can confirm that this recipe takes scones to a new high.  My first taste – and I couldn’t wait to taste them – was like biting into a cross between a Danish pastry and a scone.  Seriously scrumptious.  The vultures thought so too.  The scones vanished in seconds. 

As well as mistakenly waiting too long to attempt them, I also erred in the amount I made.  I halved the recipe figuring three of us would not eat twelve scones.  Wrong.  Three of us would have eaten twelve scones.  Hell, one of us may have eaten twelve scones!  I swear they were that good.  The look on B’s face said the same.  If there is one piece of sage advice I can give you – I implore you to make lots!

The recipe was published in City Mix magazine in 2005 and came from the then chef, Katrina Smith of Craven “A” café, 4 Saint Paul St, Auckland (I believe the café is still there, not sure if the chef is).  The café is near the University of Auckland and I imagine masses of grateful students have hungrily demolished these.  A warning to Katrina – if you ever see me, run!  I feel I am going to be overcome with gratitude for this treat and plant big kisses on your cheeks!

cranberry and custard scones

Makes 12 scones

a handful of dried cranberries

3 cups standard flour

3 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 pinch salt

200g butter, diced or grated

milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 cups custard (make custard following packet directions)

Preheat oven to 220°C.

Place cranberries in a saucepan, add a little water and heat gently until cranberries are softened and water has evaporated.  Drain to remove excess water and leave to cool.

Make custard following packet directions (or use store-bought, chilled custard) and leave to cool (place in the fridge to cool down quickly if you are short of time). 

Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl.  Rub in the butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Add enough milk to form a soft, but not sticky, dough – use a palette knife to bring the mixture together.  Roll dough into a large rectangle and cut in half.  Brush both halves with the beaten egg.

Spread the custard over one half of the dough and sprinkle with the cranberries.  Place the other half of the dough on top.  Brush the top with beaten egg.  Cut into 12 pieces, place on a lined baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes.

When cooled slightly but still warm, drizzle the scones with the icing, or you can glaze with hot jam or dust with icing sugar.