BETA
Cinnamon Custard Tarts
Small flaky pastry cups filled with a smooth vanilla custard and a light cinnamon finish. A home-oven take on the Portuguese custard-tart idea.
60 minutes · Intermediate · 6 pieces / portions
Also allow: Plus pastry thawing and 10 minutes cooling
Original house recipe · Not yet kitchen-tested
Ingredients
- Puff pastry300 g
- Whole milk350 ml
- Egg yolks3 whole
- Sugar60 g
- Cornstarch20 g
- Vanilla extract1 tsp
- Ground cinnamon0.25 tsp
- All purpose flour10 g
- Butter5 g
Keep this original batch size for consistent texture and setting.
Allergen notes
Wheat, milk and egg. Check puff pastry labels for soy and other allergens.
Method
Make the custard
Thaw the pastry in the refrigerator according to its packet before starting; thawing time is additional. Whisk the yolks, sugar, cornstarch and 50 ml of the milk in a bowl. Heat the remaining 300 ml milk until steaming. Gradually whisk it into the yolk mixture, then return everything to the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking continuously, until thick bubbles break the surface; keep whisking for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Transfer to a shallow bowl and cover the surface. Cool for 15 minutes while preparing the pastry.
Line the muffin tin
Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Use the butter to lightly grease all 12 wells of a standard metal muffin tin. Dust the worktop with the measured flour and roll the pastry to about 2 mm thick. Cut twelve 9 cm rounds, gathering and rolling scraps once if necessary. Press one round into each well with the edges reaching about 3 cm up the sides. Refrigerate the lined tin for 10 minutes.
Fill and bake
Stir the cooled custard smooth and divide among the pastry cups, about 2.5 tbsp per tart, leaving a little space below each rim. Bake on the lower-middle rack for 20–25 minutes, until the pastry is deeply golden, the filling is set and the centres reach at least 74°C (165°F). Some brown spots on the custard are welcome; do not broil them to force dark patches.
Cool and serve
Leave the tarts in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a rack. Dust with the cinnamon and serve two tarts per person, warm rather than piping hot. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and use within 2 days. Save the unused egg whites in the refrigerator for another cooked dish.
Keep the pastry cold until filling, and use a metal tin so the bases brown. This gentler home-oven method is not a professional high-temperature bakery method.
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