Custard Tart (with poached rhubarb)

                                         Custard Tart served with poached rhubarb


Custard tart has to be one of life's most simple pleasures. A very ancent and traditional British recipe. I'm sure most of us Brits can remember visiting the local bakery and taking home the small  tarts surrounded with tin foil for a real treat.  This tart is almost the same but the pastry is so much better..short, crisp & full of flavour.

The very basic ingredients include free range eggs, sugar, cream & lots of freshly grated nutmeg fill the short biscuity pastry base.  Have a slice with your afternoon tea or serve up with rhubarb for a delightful dessert... it's a match made in heaven.  The rhubarb is totally optional, this was the first of this year's crop from the garden.  Pick it while it's young and tender and it will take the absolute minimum of cooking. 

This recipe will serve 8 or 6 if you're greedy like me

You will need a deep 9"/ 23cm loose bottom flan/quiche tin, greased with melted butter

If you prefer to measure your ingredients please click this link Easy Conversion Chart 

* All of my recipes use large eggs 


FOR THE SWEET PASTRY CASE (paté sucree)

1 heaped tsp finely grated lemon zest
7oz/225gms plain (all purpose) flour
5oz/150gms butter at room temperature
2½oz/75gms caster (superfine) sugar
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk

For the custard filling

16floz/500ml whipping cream
2½oz/75gms caster (superfine sugar)
the yolks of 9 eggs (the whites can be frozen and used for meringues)
around 2tsp of freshly grated nutmeg

Method:-

to make the pastry case

Sift the flour into a large bowl
Rub in the butter until the fine 'breadcrumbs' stage
mix in the sugar and lemon zest ...make a well in the centre of the bowl
beat the whole egg and the yolk together
Add this to the centre of the bowl
Lightly mix into the other ingredients to form a ball.
Flatten out slightly and cover with cling film
refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

when chilled roll out as thinly as you can on a floured surface to fit the size of the flan tin with a little overlap.
be careful not too break the pastry or the custard filling could seep out

refrigerate again for around 15 mins and turn on the oven to 180c/350f gas 4

line the pastry case with a piece of crumpled baking parchment and fill with baking beans


place in the centre of the oven and bake for around 10-15mins 
remove the paper & beans
check to make sure that no cracks or holes have appeared.  If they have carefully patch up with any left over pastry trimmings 
Neatly trim the overhang of the pastry case and pop back in the oven for just a few minutes until the base is cooked through.
Leave in the flan/quiche tin
It's now ready to be filled.

turn to oven down to 120c/250f/½Gas

TO MAKE THE CUSTARD

Place the cream into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Beat the egg yolks & sugar together in a large bowl
Slowly add the boiling cream to the egg yolk mixture stirring all the time
Place into a pouring jug
Place the flan tin on a baking tray and carefully fill with the custard
Grate over lots & lots of nutmeg
Bake in the centre of the oven for around 30 minutes
The custard filling should still have a slight wobble in the centre it will continue to cook whilst cooling. 
Place on a cooling tray
When cold carefully remove from the flan tin 
It's now ready to serve

For the Rhubarb 

 4 young fresh stalks of rhubarb
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsps water
1 little red food colouring (optional)

cut the stalks across into half then into quarters 
cut each quarter into half lengthwise
then cut each half into 2 or 3 slices...again lengthwise  ( as in the photograph)
place everything into a saucepan
Bring to the boil...simmer for 2 minutes exactly
place a tight fitting lid on the pan and let the rhubarb steam for around 5 minutes
It should be cooked but still slightly firm
you can add a tiny drop red food colouring if you want your rhubarb to be nice & pink 
Add more sugar if required

Leave to cool



Assemble simply as I have done and serve

    
    

Detailed Conversion Chart

Chart courtesy of All Recipes  

Volume When measuring liquid, cooking measurements are quite straightforward: Metric Imperial US cups 250ml 8 fl oz 1 cup 180ml 6 fl oz 3/4 cup 150ml 5 fl oz 2/3 cup 120ml 4 fl oz 1/2 cup 75ml 2 1/2 fl oz 1/3 cup 60ml 2 fl oz 1/4 cup 30ml 1 fl oz 1/8 cup 15ml 1/2 fl oz 1 tablespoon

Weight Check this chart for basic imperial to metric conversions: 1/2 oz 15g 1 oz 30g 2 oz 60g 3 oz 90g 4 oz 110g 5 oz 140g 6 oz 170g 7 oz 200g 8 oz 225g 9 oz 255g 10 oz 280g 11 oz 310g 12 oz 340g 13 oz 370g 14 oz 400g 15 oz 425g 1 lb 450g

Spoons! Ever stop to wonder about teaspoons, dessertspoons and tablespoons? Here are their metric equivalents. But first: 1 dessertspoon = 2 teaspoons 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon 1 teaspoon 5ml 2 teaspoons 10ml 1 tablespoon 15ml 2 tablespoons 30ml 3 tablespoons 45ml 4 tablespoons 60ml 5 tablespoons 75ml 6 tablespoons 90ml 7 tablespoons 105ml Also know that tablespoons can be easily used to convert dry (and wet) ingredients to/from US cups. Here's a simple conversion chart: Tablespoons to US cups 1 tablespoon 1/16 cup 2 tablespoons 1/8 cup 4 tablespoons 1/4 cup 5 tablespoons 1/3 cup 8 tablespoons 1/2 cup 10 tablespoons 2/3 cup 12 tablespoons 3/4 cup 16 tablespoons 1 cup

Weight of common ingredients Found a recipe in US cups? Keep in mind a cup of butter weighs much more than a cup of flour! Use this chart to convert common ingredients between cups, metric and imperial: Plain flour and icing sugar US cups Metric Imperial 1/8 cup 15g 1/2 oz 1/4 cup 30g 1 oz 1/3 cup 40g 1 1/2 oz 1/2 cup 65g 2 1/4 oz 2/3 cup 85g 3 oz 3/4 cup 95g 3 1/4 oz 1 cup 125g 4 1/2 oz Porridge oats US cups Metric Imperial 1/8 cup 10g 1/3 oz 1/4 cup 20g 3/4 oz 1/3 cup 30g 1 oz 1/2 cup 45g 1 1/2 oz 3/4 cup 60g 2 1/4 oz 1 cup 85g 3 oz Sugar (caster and granulated) US cups Metric Imperial 1/8 cup 25g 1 oz 1/4 cup 50g 1 3/4 oz 1/3 cup 70g 2 1/4 oz 1/2 cup 100g 3 1/2 oz 2/3 cup 135g 4 3/4 oz 3/4 cup 150g 5 1/4 oz 1 cup 200g 7 oz Brown soft sugar US cups Metric Imperial 1/8 cup 25g 1 oz 1/4 cup 55g 2 oz 1/3 cup 75g 2 1/2 oz 1/2 cup 110g 4 oz 2/3 cup 150g 5 oz 3/4 cup 170g 6 oz 1 cup 220g 7 3/4 oz Honey, treacle and syrup US cups Metric Imperial 1/8 cup 45g 1 1/2 oz 1/4 cup 85g 3 oz 1/3 cup 110g 4 oz 1/2 cup 170g 6 oz 2/3 cup 225g 8 oz 3/4 cup 250g 9 oz 1 cup 340g 12 oz Butter and margarine US cups Metric Imperial 1/8 cup 25g 1 oz 1/4 cup 60g 2 oz 1/3 cup 75g 3 oz 1/2 cup 110g 4 oz 2/3 cup 150g 5 1/4 oz 3/4 cup 180g 6 1/4 oz 1 cup 225g 8 oz

Quick conversions For other common ingredients, here are some quick conversions from US cups to metric: 1 cup chocolate chips = 150g  1 cup cocoa powder = 125g  1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans = 125g  1 cup walnut or pecan halves = 100g  1 cup desiccated coconut = 75g  1 tablespoon baking powder = 15g  1 tablespoon salt = 18g  1 cup grated Cheddar cheese = 120g  1 cup grated Parmesan cheese = 80g  1 cup dried breadcrumbs = 120g  1 cup couscous = 175g  1 cup lentils = 190g  1 cup sultanas or raisins = 170g

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Allrecipes

French Onion Soup

                                    French Onion Soup with an Emmenthal Croute 



French Onion Soup is one of life's simple pleasures for me....rich, fragrant broth with caramelised onions topped with a crusty toasted Emmenthal croute.. a complete meal in itself.  

The traditional recipe calls for a good beef stock but if you haven't got this a rich strong chicken stock works well  or keep it vegetarian by using a good quality vegetable stock.  Emmenthal would be my cheese of choice but Gruyere is wonderful and even an extra mature cheddar will work fine. The success of the recipe is completely dependent on ensuring the onions are caramelised to a deep golden brown, wishy washy onions will make a second rate soup...so take your time and don't add the stock too hastily.

Ingredients:- for around 6-8 portions

2lbs / 1kg thinly sliced large white onions
3 pints/ 1.8ltrs beef stock (or equivalent)
1 crusty baguette
4oz /125gms Emmenthal or Gruyere Cheese (grated)
2oz/60gms unsalted butter
1 dsp olive oil
1oz/30gms flour
1tbsp sugar
2 tsps fresh chopped Thyme or ½tsp dried 
seasoning to taste

Method:-

you will first need to caramelise your onions here's what to do

melt the butter together with the oil in a large saucepan
add the onions and slowly cook until soft 
now add the sugar, continue cooking on a very low heat for around 15 to 20 minutes stirring regularly... until dark golden brown
Sprinkle over the flour and stir through thoroughly
Gradually add the stock and bring to the boil stirring all the time to prevent any lumps forming.
Turn down the heat to a simmer...taste, season and add the thyme.
Simmer for around 30-40 minutes and it will be ready to serve

For the croutes,

Slice the baguette on the diagonal into 8 pieces
Toast just one side on a hot grill  (broiler)
Turn them over untoasted side upwards
place equal amounts of the grated cheese on each piece making sure the cheese is well distributed
Return to the grill and melt the cheese until  bubbling & hot 

Place the soup into warmed bowls and top each bowl with a  cheese croute then serve immediately  

Irish Fruited Soda Bread

                                               Irish Fruited Soda Bread

This recipe takes me back to my childhood.  I had the most wonderful holidays on the family farm back in Ireland.  Home cured bacon, fresh eggs & freshly churned butter for breakfast along with the wonderous smell of soda bread being baked...all cooked on the iron range fueled with peat....it's a wonderous smell that I often remember...nothing quite like it.   Unfortunately those days are gone but baking this bread brings me so much happiness.  It's wonderful to reminisce

Well..... Going on from my Basic Scone recipe from last week....this is very similar but I like to use Strong White Flour for this....gives such a great rise and beautifully light texture.

Recipe :-  for those preferring to measure rather than weigh I have a conversion chart here
Conversion Chart

3oz/75g Currants

3oz/75g Sultanas or raisins

250g / 8oz Strong White Flour (Bread Flour if you can't find it All-purpose will do)

10g /2 tsps Baking Powder

60g/2oz caster sugar  (superfine sugar)

pinch of salt

20g/1½ oz butter at room temperature

175ml/6fl oz Buttermilk

Method.

Soak the fruit for an hour or so in strong boiling hot tea to plump it up

Sift the flour, salt & baking powder into a large mixing bowl 

Rub in the butter

Add the sugar and mix through

Drain the fruit and add

Combine everything together with the buttermilk. Add a little milk if the dough is dry

Work lightly on a floured surface to form a ball of dough

Place on a greased oven tray

With a sharp knife cut a cross into the top  ( to keep the devil at bay)

Sprinkle over a little more flour and bake in a pre-heated hot oven.....200c/400f/gas 6

for around 30 minutes...maybe slightly more

Cool on a wire rack ....it's great served while still slightly warm with lashings of butter.

Best eaten on the day it's baked but it's lovely toasted the day after

Bara Brith aka Welsh Tea Bread Low Low fat

          Bara Brith...Welsh Tea Bread...the  cake version




I live in Cheshire UK which borders one of my favourite & one of the most beautiful places in the world...North Wales...I love the culture and adore the simple food using the best local or store cupboard ingredients. This recipe is so very similar, well almost the same as  to the Irish 'Brack' which was my  Irish Dad's favourite bake. As it starts to stale ... just toast it as you would bread... it's delicious for breakfast or afternoon tea either way.
     
If you like fruited cakes that are not heavy in fats then this could be the one for you. The moistness of the cake comes from pre-soaking the fruit overnight in strong hot tea. It keeps it so very moist fo a day or two... on keeping add a little spead of butter or it's delicious toasted.   

ps I have the yeasted version on this blog too 

For  the recipe:-  if you are baking in cups & spoons please follow my conversion charts available on this blog   Easy Conversion Charts


Ingredients

175g /6oz Sultanas or raisins
175g /6oz currants
110g   4oz brown sugar ( I used soft brown muscavado)
300ml or 10 fl oz of really hot strong tea
275g/  10 oz self raising flour
a good grating of nutmeg
½tsp cinnamon 
½tsp sea salt 
one large beaten egg 

the night before you bake ....soak the sultanas, currants and sugar in the hot tea. If you're in a hurry...put the fruit and tea in a saucepan...bring it to the boil...then leave until it cools... it's ok to go if it's at blood temp. 

Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment

On the day,

Heat the oven to 150c/300f/gas mark 2

Sieve together the flour, spices and salt

Add the fruit and the egg,  mix to combine

Pour into the prepared tin 

Bake for around 1 hour and 15 mins...insert a skewer.. if it comes out clean it's baked...if not leave fo a little while until it's done

Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes then turn out onto a cooling tray.

It's ready to slice when completely cooled or better still ... the day after baking.