Vanilla Rooibos Custard Tart Filling
Rooibos infused custard filling for a tart case with double cream, 5 yolks, golden caster sugar and grated nutmeg.
Vanilla Rooibos custard tart filling sits somewhere between a Portuguese pastel de nata and an old fashioned English custard tart. The idea is to infuse the cream with Dragonfly Organic Vanilla Rooibos before the custard is made, so the Madagascan vanilla and the honey malt of the rooibos bake right into the set custard rather than sitting on top.
Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for the Vanilla Rooibos Custard Tart Filling recipe. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/recipes/Biscuits/vanilla rooibos custard tart filling/
This is the filling on its own, written to pour into a tart case you have already blind baked, so you can use whatever pastry you like. Cream takes up vanilla and rooibos more slowly than milk does, so give it a proper twelve minute steep off the heat and temper the yolks gently. Get those two things right and the rest is straightforward.
You'll need
- 6 Dragonfly Organic Vanilla Rooibos pyramid bags
- 400ml double cream
- 100ml whole milk
- 5 large free range egg yolks
- 75g golden caster sugar
- 1 tsp cornflour, sieved (helps the custard set cleanly)
- A small pinch of fine sea salt
- A generous grating of fresh whole nutmeg, for the top
- 1 pre baked 24cm sweet shortcrust tart case (or 12 mini cases), blind baked and fully cooled
Method
- Pour the 400ml of double cream and the 100ml of whole milk into a small heavy based saucepan and warm over a medium low heat to about 80C. Steaming gently with the first fine bubbles around the edge, never simmering.
- Pull the pan off the heat and drop in the 6 rooibos pyramids. Cover with a lid and leave to infuse off the heat for twelve full minutes. The longer infusion is needed because cream pulls vanilla and rooibos more slowly than thin milk does.
- Heat the oven to 150C fan or 170C conventional or Gas 3. Sit the pre baked tart case on a baking tray to make it easier to move when full.
- Lift the bags from the cream, press each gently against the side of the pan with a teaspoon to release the last of the infusion, and discard. The cream should now be a pale dusty pink with a strong vanilla aroma.
- Whisk the 5 egg yolks, the golden caster sugar, the sieved cornflour and the small pinch of fine sea salt together in a heatproof bowl for two minutes until the mixture has thickened, paled to a buttery yellow and ribbons gently from the whisk.
- Pour the warm infused cream over the yolk mixture in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly. This tempering step keeps the yolks from scrambling; do not pour the cream in fast.
- Strain the finished custard through a fine sieve into a jug. The sieve catches any small bits of cooked yolk and any residual tea dust, leaving a clean glossy custard.
- Pour the custard from the jug straight into the pre baked tart case on its baking tray. Fill the case right up to the rim. Grate the fresh nutmeg generously over the surface in three or four passes.
- Slide the tray into the middle of the oven and bake for thirty to thirty five minutes. The custard is ready when the surface is set with a faint sheen and the very centre still has a slight wobble when the tray is nudged.
- Cool the tart on its tray on the worktop for one hour, then transfer to the fridge to chill for two hours before slicing. The custard sets fully as it chills and cuts into clean slices straight from cold.
Want the background, not just the brew?
Brewed with: Dragonfly Organic Vanilla Rooibos, 40 Tea Bags 100g
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