#34 *BONUS RECIPE* Pumpkin Pie Custard Tart
Autumn is here, and that can only mean one thing. Pumpkin & Spice
Hello hello hello! You have all caught me in a wildly romantic mood, you see Autumn does this to me- what about you? I just get so inspired and especially over spiced desserts. I am extremely excited for next weeks newsletter, which will be an exploration into my Austrian heritage. For my lovely free subscribers it will be an incredible (and incredibly easy) Apricot & Honey Cheesecake (Aprikosen-Käsekuchen) & for my lovely paid subscribers I will be sharing my family’s Apfelstrudel recipe. It’s one not to be missed!
I have my brother & his girlfriend staying over, and last night I made this Pumpkin Pie Custard Tart- it was demolished in a few bites so I had to share this bonus recipe with you. It is a variation on my original English Custard Tart recipe but with an Autumnal Twist. Serve with good quality canned whipped cream & roasted pumpkin seeds.
Pumpkin Spice Custard Tart
Ingredients (serves 8-10)
(Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice)
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Ground Cloves
1/4 Tsp Ground Ginger
1/3 Tsp Ginger
(For the Sweet Pastry case)
260g plain flour+ extra to dust
50g Icing sugar
160g very cold salted butter, cubed
2 egg yolks
1 Tbsp Vanilla Bean Paste
1/3 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
Pinch of Salt
(Pumpkin custard filling)
750g double cream
90g caster sugar divided in half
13 large egg yolks
1 Tbsp Vanilla Bean Paste
2 Tbsp Pumpkin Puree
1 heaped Tsp Pumpkin Spice
Pinch of salt
Whole nutmeg for grating
Method
1) Start by adding all the pastry dough ingredients together into a food processor. Pulse for 20/30 seconds until evenly combined. Shape into a smooth circle puck with your hands and wrap in cling film. Pop into the fridge to set for 4 hours. Make sure you have a fluted, deep 9" tin.
Once the dough has chilled in the fridge, lightly knead to ensure the dough is the same temperature throughout- otherwise it will be prone to tearing. Lightly dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour.
Roll the dough out to 4/5mm thick and a little larger than the circumference of your tin. Gently drape the pastry into the tin and push it into any crevices. This is a very soft dough so do expect some tearing. Just gently patch it back together with a little more dough and smooth it out with your fingertips. Pop back into the fridge for 30/40 minutes. Preheat your oven to 170°C Fan. (see video below for help!)
Crunch some parchment paper into a ball and add on top of the chilled dough. Add either baking beans, rice or dried peas/beans etc and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment along with the beans and bake again for a further 15 minutes.
To make the filling, add the cream, the salt, pumpkin spice vanilla bean paste and half the sugar into a saucepan. Heat gently until warm and set aside. Now add your pumpkin puree, egg yolks and sugar into a mixing bowl. Whisk together to combine. Slowly pour the heated vanilla cream into the eggs, constantly whisking. Lower the oven to 135°C fan.
Now pour the warm custard into your pastry case and lightly grate some nutmeg over the top. Bake for 45 minutes until you have a gentle wobble in the middle. You can serve this 30 minutes after removing from the oven or you can pop this in the fridge for a few hours and eat then.