Vanilla Crème Brûlée Tart
Vanilla Crème Brûlée Tart
This vanilla crème brûlée tart is a classic – imagine a custard tart with a soft centre, topped with a thin caramel coating.
The filling is easy to pull together but using a fresh vanilla pod will really make these flavours stand out.
For the caramel top – I prefer to use icing sugar, as it gives a very very thin caramel, but with less of a ‘crack’. For a thicker caramel with the iconic crunch, use regular white sugar!
Ingredients
Method
Beat the butter, salt and icing sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment 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 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl and beater to ensure the butter is fully incorporated and there are no streaks of unincorporated butter.
Tip in the flour and mix on low speed until it pulls together into a dough.
Lift the dough out and squeeze it with your hands to form a rough disc. Place the pastry in between two large silicon mats (or parchment paper, but this can be a little slippery!) and roll it into a rough circle around 3-5mm thick. Place it on a tray and into the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
Once chilled remove the dough from the freezer and peel off the silicon mats. Let it soften for just a minute at room temperature so that it is flexible.
For this recipe, I used a rolled top flan ring (20x2.5cm) but an 8" fluted tart ring will be perfect too - you will have enough filling. If you're using the flan ring, you will need to place it on a baking mat and tray - ideally a perforated baking mat and tray as this will prevent the pastry from puffing up as it bakes.
Trim the pastry down slightly to a circle that is slightly larger than your tart ring and lift it in. Use your hands to gently press the dough into the edges of the tart ring without tearing it. If it it rips just patch the dough up. Once you have lined the tart ring, fold the excess pastry over itself to create a thicker edge around the top of the tin, creating a slight overhang - we will trim this off later but it will prevent the pastry from sinking as it bakes.
Place the tart into the freezer for 20 minutes and pre-heat the oven to 175C/345F Non-Fan Assisted.
Once chilled, use a fork to gently dock the pastry all over (I like to dock the sides too when I'm using the flan ring - no need with the fluted ring). Then place it straight into the oven to bake for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, the base should be golden brown but still have a slightly plate crust. Lower the oven temperature to 140C/285F.
Remove it from the oven and then use a small serrated knife to trim the excess pastry, so that it is flush with the top of the tart ring. Be gentle here with your sawing motions as the pastry is still fragile and we don't want to snap a large chunk off!
Once it's been trimmed, let it cool for about 5 minutes then lift it carefully out of the tart ring. The outer edges will be slightly rough from where you trimmed it, so use a fine microplane grater to smooth the pastry. This isn't necessary but will really neaten the pastry and make it sharp!
Whisk together the egg wash ingredients and brush this all over the tart, inside and out.
Place it into the oven and bake for a further 20-25m until it is a deep golden colour. Yes...20 minutes! It is a low temperature so it will give a really nice even golden colour. Make sure it is very golden though...no pale pastry! Remove it from the oven to cool. Note - the pastry case can be frozen once baked and used later. When you need to use, it, simply place it back in a hot oven at 175C/345F for about 7 minutes, then leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes, and proceed with the recipe!
Set the oven to 130C/265F Non-Fan assisted. Into a medium saucepan, add the cream, milk, and vanilla pod with the beans scraped in.
Cover the pan tightly with cling film and place it on a medium low heat. Once it starts to steam and the clingfilm puffs up, turn off the heat and let it infused for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, add the egg yolks and sugar to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
Remove the cling film from the pan, remove the vanilla pod, and briefly whisk the mixture. It should still be warm. If not, heat it just slightly.
Pour the cream over the egg yolks, stirring constantly with a spatula.
You will probably have a lot of air bubbles on the surface, so place a sheet of cling film directly on the surface and refrigerate the mix for about 5 minutes. Peel it off and it should remove most of the bubbles! If you have a few remaining just try another sheet of clingfilm on top and peel it off, it should get rid of them all.
Place your baked tart shell in the oven on a tray (do this next but in the oven or you'll spill the mixture everywhere!)
Carefully pour in the filling, all the way to the lip of the tart shell (use a blow torch to carefully get rid of any air bubbles that might be sitting on top) and bake it for around 45 minutes or until there is still a jiggle in the centre, about 2" in diameter. The filling *might* puff up at the edges but not be quite done, don't panic about this, just keep cooking it.
Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool ideally at room temperature for 1.5-2 hours. You can refrigerate it to speed up this process, but if you cool it for too long, you will lose the wobbly texture and it will just be slightly more set. If I am trying to rush it, I will refrigerate it for about 45 minutes and that does it!
When it is ready to serve, use a hot knife to cut individual slices, then dust them with icing sugar (or caster sugar for a thicker caramel) and use a blow torch to brûlée the sugar until golden. Serve immediately.
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the butter, salt and icing sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment 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 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl and beater to ensure the butter is fully incorporated and there are no streaks of unincorporated butter.
Tip in the flour and mix on low speed until it pulls together into a dough.
Lift the dough out and squeeze it with your hands to form a rough disc. Place the pastry in between two large silicon mats (or parchment paper, but this can be a little slippery!) and roll it into a rough circle around 3-5mm thick. Place it on a tray and into the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
Once chilled remove the dough from the freezer and peel off the silicon mats. Let it soften for just a minute at room temperature so that it is flexible.
For this recipe, I used a rolled top flan ring (20x2.5cm) but an 8" fluted tart ring will be perfect too - you will have enough filling. If you're using the flan ring, you will need to place it on a baking mat and tray - ideally a perforated baking mat and tray as this will prevent the pastry from puffing up as it bakes.
Trim the pastry down slightly to a circle that is slightly larger than your tart ring and lift it in. Use your hands to gently press the dough into the edges of the tart ring without tearing it. If it it rips just patch the dough up. Once you have lined the tart ring, fold the excess pastry over itself to create a thicker edge around the top of the tin, creating a slight overhang - we will trim this off later but it will prevent the pastry from sinking as it bakes.
Place the tart into the freezer for 20 minutes and pre-heat the oven to 175C/345F Non-Fan Assisted.
Once chilled, use a fork to gently dock the pastry all over (I like to dock the sides too when I'm using the flan ring - no need with the fluted ring). Then place it straight into the oven to bake for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, the base should be golden brown but still have a slightly plate crust. Lower the oven temperature to 140C/285F.
Remove it from the oven and then use a small serrated knife to trim the excess pastry, so that it is flush with the top of the tart ring. Be gentle here with your sawing motions as the pastry is still fragile and we don't want to snap a large chunk off!
Once it's been trimmed, let it cool for about 5 minutes then lift it carefully out of the tart ring. The outer edges will be slightly rough from where you trimmed it, so use a fine microplane grater to smooth the pastry. This isn't necessary but will really neaten the pastry and make it sharp!
Whisk together the egg wash ingredients and brush this all over the tart, inside and out.
Place it into the oven and bake for a further 20-25m until it is a deep golden colour. Yes...20 minutes! It is a low temperature so it will give a really nice even golden colour. Make sure it is very golden though...no pale pastry! Remove it from the oven to cool. Note - the pastry case can be frozen once baked and used later. When you need to use, it, simply place it back in a hot oven at 175C/345F for about 7 minutes, then leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes, and proceed with the recipe!
Set the oven to 130C/265F Non-Fan assisted. Into a medium saucepan, add the cream, milk, and vanilla pod with the beans scraped in.
Cover the pan tightly with cling film and place it on a medium low heat. Once it starts to steam and the clingfilm puffs up, turn off the heat and let it infused for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, add the egg yolks and sugar to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
Remove the cling film from the pan, remove the vanilla pod, and briefly whisk the mixture. It should still be warm. If not, heat it just slightly.
Pour the cream over the egg yolks, stirring constantly with a spatula.
You will probably have a lot of air bubbles on the surface, so place a sheet of cling film directly on the surface and refrigerate the mix for about 5 minutes. Peel it off and it should remove most of the bubbles! If you have a few remaining just try another sheet of clingfilm on top and peel it off, it should get rid of them all.
Place your baked tart shell in the oven on a tray (do this next but in the oven or you'll spill the mixture everywhere!)
Carefully pour in the filling, all the way to the lip of the tart shell (use a blow torch to carefully get rid of any air bubbles that might be sitting on top) and bake it for around 45 minutes or until there is still a jiggle in the centre, about 2" in diameter. The filling *might* puff up at the edges but not be quite done, don't panic about this, just keep cooking it.
Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool ideally at room temperature for 1.5-2 hours. You can refrigerate it to speed up this process, but if you cool it for too long, you will lose the wobbly texture and it will just be slightly more set. If I am trying to rush it, I will refrigerate it for about 45 minutes and that does it!
When it is ready to serve, use a hot knife to cut individual slices, then dust them with icing sugar (or caster sugar for a thicker caramel) and use a blow torch to brûlée the sugar until golden. Serve immediately.