Cardamom & Orange Custard Tart
Cardamom & Orange Custard Tart
A custard tart is a classic every baker should master. Traditionally flavoured with nutmeg, this version swaps in cardamom and orange for a more aromatic, citrus led profile. It’s perfectly balanced in sweetness with a beautifully smooth texture, but it’s the clean, rectangular slices that really make it stand out.
This recipe comes from my first book, Bake It Better, now elevated with a refined design and finished with brown butter crumble and mascarpone cream.
If you enjoy this style of tart, try the Vanilla Crème Brûlée tart next.
Ingredients
Method
Into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter and icing sugar. Beat on medium low for 2-3 minutes until it forms a smooth paste, scraping down the sides as needed.
Add in the egg yolks and beat again for around 30 seconds to form a smooth paste, scraping down the sides.
Finally, tip in the flour and salt and mix on low until it pulls together into a dough.
Remove it from the mixer and gently knead it on the work surface very briefly to pull it into a cohesive dough.
Place the dough into the centre of a large silicon mat and place a second silicon mat on top. Roll it into a rough rectangle shape, around 3-5mm thick. Place it into the freezer for 30 minutes.
Into a medium saucepan, add the cardamom pods (slightly crushed) and toast them over a medium heat just for a minute so they smell fragrant.
Add in the cream, milk and orange zest and place the pan on a medium heat. Stir it occasionally until it is steaming, then place a lid on top and allow it to infuse for 30 minutes.
Once infused, place it back on the heat, and warm is slightly so it is steaming again.
While it is heating, add the egg yolks and sugar to a medium bowl and whisk for 30 seconds to combine.
Remove the cream mixture from the heat and pass it through a sieve, slowly over the egg mixture, whisking to combine. Do this slowly so you don't scramble the eggs.
Place a sheet of clingfilm directly on the surface and refrigerate it while you finish the pastry.
Very lightly grease a 20x20x3.5cm square perforated tart ring with butter. Line a perforated tray with a perforated mat.
Working quickly, remove the chilled pastry from the freezer and peel off the top silicon mat. Flip it over and remove the second silicon mat and lift the pastry back onto the first silicon mat (this will ensure it's loosened from both silicon mats so it doesn't stick to the mat when you cut it)
Take the square tart ring and press is firmly into the pastry, near the lower edge (so you have enough spare pastry at the top to cut the walls) then lift the pastry and tart ring, onto the lined perforated tray.
Cut four strips of pastry from the remaining dough, each measuring 20cm long by about 4cm tall. Lift these into the tart ring, using your fingers to secure them in place. If at any point the dough is getting too soft, place it back in the freezer for 10m, then carry on. Fold the excess pastry slightly over the rim of the tart ring to create a slightly thicker rim.
If you run out of dough, simply re-roll the scraps between the silicon mats again, and freeze for 15 minutes before cutting the remaining required dough. Place the entire lined tart in the freezer for 30 minutes, while you pre-heat the oven to 175C/345F non-fan assisted (160C/320F fan assisted)
Place the tart into the centre of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until an even golden brown colour. For the first 5 minutes, pay very close attention to the tart to ensure the pastry doesn't slip down. This can occasionally happen as the sides of the ring are quite tall. The pastry needs to hold its height so we can fill it right to the top with custard later.
If it does, gently press the pastry back up into place while it’s still in the oven, or patch any gaps with a little extra dough. It’s more important to maintain the structure than to keep it looking perfect at this stage, as any rough edges will be trimmed away before serving.
Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Evenly brush an egg wash all over the tart (1 egg yolk with 1 tbsp of double/heavy cream). Lower the oven temperature to 150C/300F (135C/275F fan assisted) and bake for a further 10-15 minutes, until it is a deep golden brown colour. Remove it from the oven.
Once baked, lower the oven temperature to 125C/260C (110C/230F fan assisted).
Remove the custard from the fridge and remove the clingfilm, which should get rid of almost all the bubbles & foam. Remove any remaining with a spoon.
Pass the mixture carefully through a sieve into a tall jug.
Place the tart into the centre of the oven and fill it to the rim of the pastry with the custard. Remove any remaining bubbles by quickly flashing a blow torch over the top of the custard.
Bake for around 80 minutes. The tart will be set around the edges but still have quite a bit of a wobble in the centre. Remove it from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, then refrigerate for 1 hour. Alternatively, just allow it to cool at room temperature for a few hours. Placing it in the fridge just speeds things up.
Note that the heat transfer from the edge of the tart ring can cause the tart to cook faster at the edges which can occasionally lead to it bubbling slightly in the corner. If this happens, just quickly pop them with a toothpick and carry on baking. The texture will still be great, but again, we are going to trim the very edges off so don't panic. If you find bubbles are appearing and are beginning to turn a golden brown colour, it is starting to overcook, so remove it from the oven!
Heat the oven to 160C/320F (145F/295F fan assisted). Add 80g of unsalted butter to a small saucepan, and cook over a medium heat until it is a golden brown colour and smells nutty. Pour it into a separate bowl and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Add the almonds, sugar and salt to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Pour over the cooled brown butter and stir together to form a crumble.
Spread the mixture evenly onto a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes. Leave it for the first 15 minutes, then for the remaining 15 minutes, stir it every 3-5 minutes so you get an even, deep golden brown colour.
Remove it from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Remove the tart from the fridge and use a serrated knife to trim the excess pastry, so that it is now flush with the edge of the tart ring.
Carefully lift the perforated tart ring off. If it is stuck, very very carefully place a thin knife around the edge to dislodge any pastry that might have stuck to the tart ring.
Use a cake lifter to lift the tart onto a cutting board. It is quite a big tart, so needs the support otherwise it will bend under its own weight and crack.
Use a hot knife to cut 6 long rectangles.
Trim the very edges of each rectangle off.
Lift them onto your serving plates, with a spoonful of brown butter crumble on the side.
For the mascarpone cream, add the ingredients to a bowl and whisk to a medium peak. It is actually easier to rocher if the cream is a slightly thicker texture rather than too soft. Rocher the cream onto the top of the crumble and serve.
