Custard tarts have been around for a long time. They were popular during Medieval times and records show that King Henry IV enjoyed them at his coronation banquet in 1399. They remained a favourite over the centuries and are just as popular today. Even their name has an ancient pedigree - it is derived from both the old French word for crust (crouste), and the Anglo-Norman 'crustarde', which meant a tart or pie with a crust.
Another Royal, Queen Elizabeth the II was served custard tart as the dessert for her recent 80th birthday celebration.
Traditional English Recipe - Custard Tart - Simple Ingredients
Today, custard tarts are usually made from shortcrust pastry, eggs, sugar, milk or cream, and vanilla, sprinkled with nutmeg and baked. However, in King Henry’s day they could have included ingredients such as pork mince or beef marrow, but they were always filled with a sweet custard
To make them a special treat they can be topped with fresh strawberries or raspberries but in the past they were much richer, and more fattening. Almond milk and honey was often added - much too sweet for today's tastes.
Traditional English Recipe - Custard Tart - The 'Sport' of Custard Pie Throwing
There are lots of “pie in the face” jokes about custard tarts and these were popular in the days of silent movies when stars like Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and the Three Stooges often ended up with pie in their face. In more recent times, Bill Gates was splattered with custard pie in 1998 by a prankster well-known for such attacks on the rich and famous.
Pie-throwing contests still take place. In the UK, as recently as July 2008, more than 2,000 pies were chucked during a closely fought World Custard Pie Throwing Championship in Maidstone, Kent.
Traditinal Custard Tart Recipe
You will need a flan tin about 2.5cm (1 inch) deep, 18cm (7 inches across) with a removable base.
Ingredients
- 150g (5 oz) shortcrust pastry
- 3 large eggs
- 300 ml (1/2 pint) milk
- 25g (1 oz) sugar
- Nutmeg for grating
Method
- Roll out the pastry and line the flan tin. Prick it all over with a fork and bake blind at 400F (200C) for 10-15 minutes or until it is very slightly coloured.
- Beat the eggs lightly with the sugar. Heat the milk until it begins to steam and and the egg mixture to it, whisking everything together .
- Pour the mixture into the pastry case, sprinkle with ground nutmeg and bake in the centre of the oven at 220C (425F) for ten minutes and then turn down the heat to 180C (350F) and bake for a further 20-25 minutes until the custard is just set.
Remember it will become firmer as it cools down.
