Custard tart

Custard tarts or flans pâtissier are a baked pastry consisting of an outer pastry crust filled with egg custard.[1]

Not to be confused with Custard pie.

Custard tart
TypePastry
Place of originPortugal, France, England
Serving temperaturecold
Main ingredientsPastry crust, egg custard

History

The development of custard is so intimately connected with the custard tart or pie that the word itself comes from Anglo-Norman *crustade (unattested), meaning a kind of pie. It is derived from Anglo-Norman crust (> English crust) corresponding to French croust.[2] It is related to the 18th-century French term croustade, probably borrowed from the Italian crostata (already mentioned 13th century), derived from crosta (croûte in French), more probably than the Occitan croustado « tart ».[3] Some other names for varieties of custard tarts in the Middle Ages were doucettes and darioles. In 1399, the coronation banquet prepared for Henry IV included "doucettys".[4]

Medieval recipes generally included a shortcrust and puff pastry case filled with a mixture of cream, milk, or broth, with eggs, sweeteners such as sugar or honey, and sometimes spices. Recipes existed as early as the fourteenth century that would still be recognisable as custard tarts today.[5] Tarts could also be prepared with almond milk during times of fasting such as Lent, though this was rather expensive and would have been available only to the well-off.[6] Often, savoury ingredients such as minced pork or beef marrow were also added (the combining of sweet and savoury ingredients was more common in medieval England), but unlike a modern quiche the custard filling itself was invariably sweet.[4] In Portugal, the tarts are dusted with cinnamon; in Britain, nutmeg is often used.[7]

Modern versions
A fruit-topped tart with custard filling.

Modern custard tarts are usually made from shortcrust pastry, eggs, sugar, milk or cream, and vanilla, sprinkled with nutmeg and then baked. Unlike egg tarts, custard tarts are normally served at room temperature. They are available either as individual tarts, generally around 8 cm (3.1 in) across, or as larger tarts intended to be divided into slices.

Britain and Commonwealth

Custard tarts have long been a favourite pastry in Britain and the Commonwealth, where they are often called "egg custard tarts" or simply "egg custards" to distinguish the egg-based filling from the commonly served cornflour-based custards. They are sold in supermarkets and bakeries throughout the UK.

In the UK, the custard tart is regarded as a classic British dish. A version by Marcus Wareing was selected on the BBC television programme Great British Menu as the final course of a banquet to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's 80th birthday.[8] The tarts are either made as a single large tart from which slices are cut, or as smaller individual tartlets. Classically, they are invariably topped only with a dusting of nutmeg – fruit topping in the French style, or cinnamon dusting in the Dutch, is not typical.

Variations on the classic recipe include the Manchester tart, where a layer of jam is spread on the pastry before the custard is added. Other versions may have some fresh fruit, or rhubarb, cooked into the filling.[9] Versions topped with elaborate arrangements of fruit show the influence of French pâtisserie.

Hong Kong
Main article: Egg tart

Indonesia
Main article: Milk pie

The Indonesian version is called pai susu (milk custard pie) from Bali.[10] This pastry consists of an outer pastry crust filled with egg custard and condensed milk, and then baked. Contrary to other versions of this pie, this Indonesian version is very flat, with the filling consisting of only one very thin layer of custard. Another type of Indonesian pie tart is pastel de nata (derived from Portuguese cuisine due to historical ties).

France

Custard tarts in France, where they are known as flans pâtissiers, may be filled with fruit, making them similar to clafoutis. Some may contain reconstituted shortbread.[11]

Romania
Main article: Alivenci

Portugal
Main article: Pastel de nata

South Africa
Main article: Melktert

See also

References
  1. "Custard tarts recipe". foodtolove.com.au. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  2. "Custard". Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition. Oxford University Press. 1989. Retrieved 14 December 2007.
  3. Site of CNRTL : etymology of croustade
  4. "Icon nominations > Egg custard tart". Icons — a portrait of England. Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Archived from the original on 6 June 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2007.
  5. Matterer, James L. (2000). "Daryols". A Boke of Gode Cookery — Medieval Recipe Translations. Retrieved 14 December 2007.
  6. "Baking for Britain — Custard Tarts". 2006. Retrieved 15 December 2007.
  7. Julian Baggini (18 February 2015). "Custard tart fight: can the British version ever compete with Portugal's pastéis de nata?". The Guardian.
  8. "Great British Menu — The Winning Menu". 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2007.
  9. Bird, Fiona. "Recipes: Rhubarb and custard tart". Masterchef. BBC. Archived from the original on 16 January 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2008.
  10. Pie Susu Bali - Balinese Milk Custard Tart Recipe | Daily Cooking Quest
  11. https://www.iletaitungateau.com/articles/356
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