Challenge No. 45 – Egg Custards

I’m starting off with an apology for the lateness with this post.  I’ve been having trouble uploading the photos.  I’ve finally managed to add the photographs to the blog, although I don’t like the new way of doing it!

This suggestion caused a bit of confusion to start as my friend Laura asked me to make “egg custards”.  I’d never heard of these and wondered what on earth she was talking about.  This isn’t uncommon in our friendship.  I met Laura on my first day at University and had the pleasure of living with her for two years.  During this time and in the years of friendship since, Laura and the other University girls have taught me many things. In particular, I’m never allowed to forget the time that had to explain to me what a Wendy House was or the time I didn’t know what an onion bhaji was.  Most recently I managed to get confused between crème brûlée and tiramisu and the Laura and one of the other girls have affectionally named our group messenger chat “tiramisu” 🙂 So it was nice to see Laura teaching me something new again in Challenge 52 with her suggestion of “egg custards”.

After a little bit of research, I discovered that what Laura called “egg custards” is what I knew as custard tarts.  I found a recipe by Paul Hollywood who actually called them egg custard tarts and so I decided this was the one I had to use this one.

I amended the quantities slightly and for this recipe, you will need the following:-

  • For the sweet pastry
    • 165g/5¾oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
    • 25g/1oz ground almonds
    • 120g/4¼oz chilled unsalted butter, cubed
    • 55g/2oz caster sugar
    • 1 free-range egg
  • For the custard filling
    • 400ml pint full-fat milk
    • 4 free-range egg yolks
    • 52g caster sugar
    • freshly ground nutmeg

Ed - ingredients.jpg

I started off by making the pastry by stirring together the flour and ground almonds.  I added the cubed butter and rubbed it together to form breadcrumbs.

Practical tip: warm hands will begin to melt the butter and the mix will become too wet.  If, like me, your hands are prone to being warm, run them under a cold tap for a while and dry them thoroughly before you get started.  Repeat this cooling process periodically to make sure your hands don’t warm up too much.

Ed - flour and butter.jpg

Despite having used the rubbing technique a number of times over the last year, for some reason the breadcrumbs didn’t form as they should have done this time.  I tried keeping my hands cool but it still didn’t work.  I don’t know whether the flat was a bit hot or whether I just overworked it but whatever the reason, my butter didn’t rub in very well. 

I got to a point where I decided I didn’t want to keep working the mixture as it was starting to become to moist.  I tried to stir through the sugar and added the egg.  I mixed it with my figures and tried to form a soft dough.  The dough was really wet and just didn’t quite seem right.  However, I persevered and turned it out onto a floured surface to work together.  I managed to form a ball and popped it the fridge for 30 minutes.

Ed - questionable breadcrumb.jpg

Ed - pre-chill.jpg

Once the dough had chilled, I chopped it in half.  As there was only me and Dave to eat the results of this challenge, I decided to half the custard filling quantity and just use half the pastry.  The plan was to freeze the second half of the pastry, however, as you may have picked up, this challenge didn’t quite go to plan.

I took half the pastry and on a floured surface tried to roll it out so I could cut out 6 circles using an 11cm flutted cutter (as specified by the recipe).  There is no way I could get 6 circles out of this dough.  It was too fragile to roll out to the necessary size.  I decided to just get as many as I could but the dough was too ‘wet’ to lift up and pop in my muffin tin. 

After a little bit of a stress, I decided to use my smaller tin and a smaller cutter.  In hindsight, this wasn’t the best decision and I should have just persevered with the muffin tin and large cutter.  Instead, I ended up with tiny tarts which didn’t really have the filling they needed to constitute a proper egg custard tarts.

Anyway with my pastry in the smaller tin, I got start on the custard.  I put the milk into a pan over a medium heat and waited for it to nearly reach a simmer. 

I used a balloon whisk to bring together the egg yolks and sugar until pale.  I then poured in the warm milk and whisked it together.

I transferred the custard mixture to a pouring jug and tried to carefully pour this into the tarts.  DISASTER struck! I managed to spill the mixture all over one side of the tin, ruining at least 4 of the tarts.  I was on the verge of giving up, had a little strop and shouted at Dave for trying to help.  I then calmed myself down, apologised to Dave and cracked on to see just how badly these would turn out.

Ed - disaster.jpg

I grated some nutmeg on top and popped them in the oven on 180 degrees celsius.  I set the timer for 10 minutes to then keep an eye on them.

When the tarts were in the oven, I decided to use the remaining pastry to push into two of the muffin tin holes.  There was no way I could roll it out but I thought I’d give this a go.  I then filled the pastry with some of the custard mixture and added the tin to the oven.   

When the 10 minutes timer went off, I sat in front of the oven and watched until I got a very slight dome on the custard.  I don’t really know what this meant and just guessed.  I mean, it couldn’t get much worse.

I took the tins out of the oven (at different times as the muffin tin tarts took a lot longer to dome) and left them on the side to cool for 30 minutes.  I then removed them from the tin and braved a taste.

Ed - done.jpgEd - done2.jpg

Ed - done3.jpg

They weren’t as bad as I thought they were going to be but they were far from a success.  Dave loves custard tarts and was really looking forward to this challenge.  He tried some (before I’d even managed to get my photos – hence the half eaten one below) and said they were okay but didn’t quite taste right.

So not a total failure but definitely not something to write home about.  Laura was really disappointed she wasn’t going to get to try her suggestion but after reading this, she’ll probably be glad to have escaped the experience.

Coming up next week, a hopefully less stressful Challenge No. 46 – chicken gravy pie.

Challenge No. 33 – Custard Slice

This challenge was suggested by one of my closest friends, Libby, who I met 8 years ago when we moved to Sheffield for our first year of University.  Our accommodation wasn’t ready in time and so myself, Libby and our 6 other flat mates where put into temporary halls for the first week.  We were placed in an old hospital wing of one of the halls due to be knocked down.  It was a horrible place and unbearable for poor Lib who has a fear of all things hospital related! After such a traumatic start to University and a wonderful first year of adventures, it’s not surprising that us girls are all still so close.  We regularly meet up and spend our time eating, drinking and talking endlessly.  Whenever possible, I try to make sure I show up at these get togethers with baked goods for all to enjoy.  However, Lib managed to suggest not only a dish I had never made but one I’d never even eaten.  The, as I have now discovered, truly delicious, custard slice.

I did a quick search online and found a recipe by Paul Hollywood straight away.  I always enjoy making Paul’s recipes and with GBBO back on our TV’s, I thought it was rather fitting to use this recipe.

To make these custard slices, you will need the following ingredients:-

  • For the rough puff pastry
    • 225g/8oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
    • ½ tsp salt
    • 200g/7oz butter, chilled and cut into 1cm/½in cubes
    • 140-160ml/5-5½fl oz water
  • For the crème pâtissière
    • 500ml/18fl oz milk
    • 1 vanilla pod, split down the middle and seeds scraped out
    • 100g/3½oz caster sugar
    • 4 free-range eggs, yolks only
    • 40g/1½oz cornflour
    • 40g/1½oz butter
  • For the icing
    • 200g/7oz icing sugar
    • 5 tsp water
    • 50g/2oz dark chocolate, melted

Edited - ingredients

As instructed by the recipe, I started by making the puff pastry.  I put the flour, salt and one third of the chilled butter into a large bowl.  Making sure my hands were cold, I started rubbing the mixture together until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Practical tip: warm hands will begin to melt the butter and the mix will become too wet.  If, like me, your hands are prone to being warm, run them under a cold tap for a while and dry them thoroughly before you get started.  Repeat this cooling process periodically to make sure your hands don’t warm up too much.

Edited - butterEdited - breadcrumbsI added the remaining butter (which I kept in the fridge whilst I did the first bit) and gentle rubbed to bring together but being careful to leave some lumps.  I then added the water, only a little at a time.  The recipe says to add just enough until the pastry combines.  I actually only used 65ml of water.  I think this may have been because I rubbed too much of the second lot of butter into the mix so it didn’t need much more moisture.  I panicked a little but decided to carry on and see what happens.

  Edited - added butterEdited - rubbed together

I floured the worktop and tipped out the pastry.  I floured the top of the pastry, turned it over, floured it again along with the rolling pin and then set out rolling the pastry into a rectangle.  I then folded the bottom third up and then the top third down.  I wrapped the pastry in cling film and popped it in the fridge.  The recipe says to put it in the fridge for 10 minutes but because it was quite warm in the flat, I decided to let it chill for 15 minutes.

Edited - rectangle Edited - folded

Once the 15 minutes were up, I rolled the pastry into another rectangle, folded the bottom third up, top third down and popped it in the fridge for another 15 minutes.  I then repeated the step for one final turn before letting the pastry rest in the fridge.

Next up, I got started on the crème pâtiessière.  I put the milk in a pan over a low heat and added the vanilla pod and seeds. 

Edited - milk

Practical tip: the difference between scalding and boiling milk is very small.  If you have a heavy based pan, this is easier to control but you still need to be careful.  Make sure you keep the heat low and be patient.  Stir the milk occasionally and keep a close eye on it.  Reaching boiling point will happen all of a sudden and the milk will start to foam and bubble up.   

Edited - boiling milk

Whilst I was waiting for the milk to boil, I put the caster sugar and corn flour into a bowl and got my egg yolks ready.  As soon as the milk started boiling, I took it off the heat and added the egg yolks to the sugar/cornflour mixture, whisking it together with a balloon whisk.

Edited - caster:cornflour Edited - egg mixture

I then added a small ladle of the hot milk and whisked until combined.  I gradually added the remaining milk, being sure to whisk continuously as I did so.

Edited - running crem pat

I returned the milk mixture to my pan and popped it back on a medium heat.  I stirred continuously with one hand whilst searching on the internet for a video to show me how thick the mixture should be.  Just as I found a third video (which I hoped would be more helpful), it happened…the mixture started to thicken!  Lumpy at first but I kept stirring, pausing only to assess whether it had reached boiling point again.  After less than a minute, I had a lovely thick, smooth custard.

The recipe then says to pass the mixture through a sieve into a clean bowl.  I might need a new sieve or maybe this is normal but it took me a lot of hard work to do this!  Finally after a vigorous 20 minutes, during which I had to strip off a layer of clothing and tie my hair up, I had pushed near enough all the mixture through the sieve. 

Edited - creme pat

I then added the butter and mixed until it was melted.  I’d kept the butter in the fridge thinking the mixture would be very hot but after the 20 minutes it took me to sieve it, most of the heat was gone.  I therefore decided to chop the butter into small pieces to help it melt properly.  I let it cool for a further 5 minutes and then covered the crème pât before putting it in the fridge to chill.

I took the pastry out the fridge, divided it into two equal pieces and rolled each into a 20cm square.  I used the base of a 20cm tin to trim the pastry to size.

Edited - rolled pastry

I placed each square onto a tray lined with baking paper and popped it in the fridge for another 15 minutes whilst I tucked into our takeaway dinner which had arrived whilst I was fighting with the sieve!

Once chilled, I popped the pastry into a pre-heated oven on 220 degrees celsius for 15 minutes.  I had to use 2 trays which wouldn’t fit on one shelf together so after 5 minutes, I switched them over.  And then again after the next 7 minutes.  Once they were cooked, I left the pastry squares to cool on the trays.

Edited - cooked pastry

I lined a square tin with foil and then placed one of the cooled pastry squares into the bottom.  The recipe says to use a 23cm square tin but the pastry looked a bit lost so I took it out and transferred the foil to my loose base 20cm square tin before adding the pastry again.

Edited - layer 1

I spooned the crème pât onto the pastry and used an icing spatula to spread it out as evenly as possible.

Edited - layer 2

I added the second pastry square (which broke slightly!) and got started on the icing.

Edited - layer 3

I sifted the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually added the water.  I used a little more than the recipe suggested as the mixture felt too stiff to be able to spread on the delicate pastry.  If you do this, just be careful to add a small amount at a time, it’s amazing how quickly the icing can turn from being too thick to being too runny. 

Edited - icing

I let the icing to one side whilst I melted the chocolate.  To do this, I put the squares into a mug and popped it in the microwave for around 30 seconds, string part way through.  I then gave it a good mix until it was nice a smooth.  I took a disposable icing bag and put it into a glass without cutting the bottom.  I added the chocolate and left it to firm up slightly whilst I iced the top of the pastry.

After the chocolate had cooled slightly, I snipped off the corner of the icing bag to leave a very fine ‘nozzle’.  I then piped parallel lines onto the white icing.  I started off with 5 (not very evenly spaced) lines and then decided I could pipe some more in between each of them.  Once there was enough chocolate lines, I took a tooth pick and pulled parallel lines across the melted chocolate and icing in alternating directions to create the feathered effect.  I had never done this before and was impressed with how easy it was to make the decoration look so good!

Edited - feathered

I then put the finished custard slice back in the fridge to set over night.

The next day I used a sharp knife to cut it into small squares and boxed them up to take with me to Doncaster, where I was due to spend the day with 4 of the girls from University and one of their parents.  Unfortunately, Libby wasn’t at this get together and so didn’t get to try her suggested challenge.  However, everyone who got to try them said they were very delicious.

Edited - sliced up Edited - served up 2

I personally was really impressed with these.  This challenge pushed me to try new techniques in making puff pastry and crème pât, both of which turned out really well.  Plus, I discovered a new sweet treat favourite!  As I write this, I’ve just had one of the left over slices (well there weren’t any left over from Doncaster, but I sneakily kept a couple of squares at home for me and Dave) and they really are absolutely yummy!

Coming up next week, Challenge No. 34 – sausage rolls.   

   

Challenge No. 30 – Fig and Goats Cheese Tart

This dish was suggested by a family friend.  I’ve known Debbie ever since her daughter and I went to primary school and ballet class together.  I’ve never eaten a fig before but I love goats cheese so was quite excited to make (and eat!) this challenge.

I had a quick search online and found this recipe for fig, goats cheese and caramelised onion tarts.  The tarts are made with filo pastry sheets.   Whilst Challenge 52 is all about taking me out of my kitchen comfort zone, I decided to listen to my baking hero Mary Berry for this one.  I remember watching one of her programmes and whilst Mary Berry once made filo pastry as part of her training, she actually encourages home cooks to use shop bought ready made pastry. And who am I to ignore advice from Mary Berry? 🙂

So for this recipe, you will need the following ingredients:-

  • Filo pastry sheets
  • 1 Onion
  • 2tbsp light muscovado sugar
  • 1tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 55g Goats’ cheese
  • 110g unsalted butter
  • 3 Figs Fresh
  • Honey for drizzling

Edited - ingredients

The recipe on the BakingMad website actually used 2tbsp of dark muscovado sugar and no balsamic vinegar.   However, when I went to get my sugar out the cupboard I realised I only had light muscavado sugar.  After a bit of research, I discovered that you can get the same caramelised effect by adding a tbsp of balsamic vinegar to 2tbsp of light muscavado sugar and this is what I did.

I started by preparing my onion.  I cut it in half and then sliced it at thinly as possible.

Edited - onions

I melted two knobs of butter in my frying pan and then added the muscavado sugar and balsamic vinegar.  Once the butter was fully melted, I added the sliced onion and fried them on a medium heat for about 20 minutes.

Edited - onions cooking Edited - onions

Whilst the onion was cooking, I prepared my muffin tin.  I greased each hole with some butter and then made some little baking parchment squares to insert into each one.  I cut the baking parchment into the following shape:-

Screen Shot 2015-07-17 at 20.51.43

Edited - prepared tin

Practical tip: these little inserts help to remove the cooked tarts without breaking the delicate pastry 🙂

I then melted the remaining butter and started to make the pastry shells.  I took my pastry sheets and decided to cut 12cm squares to line the tin.  The recipe said to cut them into 6cm squares but these looked to small.  I brushed the top of each square with melted butter, doubled it up with another square and pushed the two into a hole in the prepared tin.

Edited - pastry in the tin

I put the pastry cases into the oven on 180 degrees celsius for 5 minutes to brown them slightly. 

Edited - part cooked

With the pasty part cooked, I put a teaspoon of caramelised onion into each one and topped it with some goats cheese.  I then returned the tarts to the oven until the cheese was melted.  This actually took longer than I was expecting, probably around 7 to 10 minutes.

Edited - cheese in the tin

I sliced the figs and topped the cooked tarts with a portion each before drizzling them with a little honey.

Edited - served up

These were delicious.  They weren’t quite as small and dainty as I thought they would be (probably because I used 12cm squares of pastry) but they sure did taste nice.

Coming up next week, Challenge No. 31 – battenberg.