Egg Custard Tart (Marcus Wareing)

Tempo

1 hr 15 min (+ 2 hr fridge for pastry)

Picante

Dificuldade

Difícil

Rende

6porções

Ingredientes

Pastry:

225 g

plain flour (farinha de trigo)

Pinch salt

Zest of 1 lemon (raspas de limão siciliano)

150 g

cold butter, cubed

75 g

caster sugar (açúcar refinado fino)

whole egg + 1 egg yolk

Custard filling:

egg yolks (gemas de ovo grande)

75 g

caster sugar

500 ml

whipping cream (creme de leite fresco com 35% gordura)

whole nutmegs (noz-moscada inteira)

Modo de preparo

01**Pastry.** Preheat oven 170°C / gas 3. Rub flour + salt + lemon zest + butter to breadcrumb texture. Mix in sugar. Beat egg + yolk; add to mix; bring together to a ball. Wrap; **fridge 2 hr.**
02**Line tin.** Roll pastry to 2 mm on floured surface. Line a 18 cm (7 in) tart tin; press into corners; trim level.
03**Blind bake.** Line pastry with thick clingfilm overhanging the rim; fill with rice or baking beans. Bake **10 min** until edges starting to turn golden. Remove beans + film. Drop oven to **130°C / gas 1**.
04**Custard.** Bring cream to a gentle boil in a saucepan. Whisk yolks + sugar in a bowl. Pour cream onto yolks slowly, whisking. **Pass through a fine sieve into a jug** — non-negotiable; removes any *cordão* of cooked yolk.
05**Fill + bake.** Place pastry case back in the oven (lower rack). Pour custard right to the brim. **Grate nutmeg liberally** all over. Bake **30-40 min** until set but with a slight wobble at the centre (it'll firm as it cools).
06**Cool to room temp** before slicing. Don't cut hot — the custard slumps.

Egg Custard Tart (Marcus Wareing)

The legendary version. Lemon-scented shortcrust, set custard, generous nutmeg. Fiddly but worth it for a special occasion. The blind-bake + low-temp custard bake is critical — rush either and you get scrambled eggs.

Heat: 0/5.

Notes

Why low custard temp? 130°C is a slow cook. Anything higher and proteins seize, you get a curdled scramble texture.
Blind-bake clingfilm trick is Wareing's signature — easier to lift out than parchment + beans.
Cream choice: creme de leite fresco (35%) only. UHT or canned will not set the same.
Nutmeg: grate fresh from whole nutmegs. Pre-ground is dust.
Air fryer oven mode: standard bake/convection at 130°C is fine. Don't use the "air fry" mode — too aggressive air for delicate custard.
Make-ahead: bake same day for best texture. Will hold 24 hr fridge but loses some bloom.
Leftover custard cracking: sign of overbake. Serve anyway — taste is fine.