Recipes

From How to cook the perfect... by Marcus Wareing

Serves 6-8

    400g sweet shortcrust pastry
    2 large organic egg yolks, lightly beaten, to glaze
    Filling 9 large organic egg yolks
    75g (2 ½ oz) caster sugar
    500ml (1 pint) whipping cream
    1 whole nutmeg, for grating

Method

Line a large roasting pan with non-stick baking parchment. Place a buttered 18 x 3.5cm pastry ring (or loose-bottomed tart tin) in the centre. Roll out the pastry to 3mm thick. Don’t stretch the pastry, but keep turning it round and patting in the edges with floured hands until you have a disc about 8cm larger than the pastry ring. Place the disc between two sheets of floured greaseproof paper, chill for half an hour.

Trim the edge of the disc to make it neat, then lift on the rolling pin and drop into the ring, letting the surplus hang over the top. Roll some pastry trimmings into a ball, and dust with flour, then press the ball into the bottom inside edge of the pastry case and up the side to make them smooth. Press any cracks together with your finger. Chill for half an hour.

Heat the oven to 170°C fan (190°C/Gas 5)

Bake the pastry case blind for 10 minutes until it starts to turn golden brown. Remove the paper and the rice, and brush inside the pastry case with the egg yolks. Return to the oven to bake for 5 minutes. Leave to cool. Turn the oven down to 130°C fan (150°C/Gas 2).

Next make the filling. Put the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour in the cream and mix well, then strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a heavy pan. Warm over a low heat to blood temperature (37°C), stirring all the time. Pour into a jug.

Put the cooled pastry case, still in the ring in the parchment-lined pan, on the middle shelf of the oven. Slowly and carefully pour in the custard, filling the case as full as you can – right to the very top. Grate nutmeg liberally all over, to cover the custard completely.

Bake the tart for 45-50 minutes until the custard looks set but not firm – it should have a slight, even quiver when you gently shake the roasting pan. Leave to cool to room temperature, then remove the ring. Cut into neat wedges with a sharp knife to serve.