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Vanilla Custard Tart served on a plate
Crumbly pastry and smooth homemade vanilla filling

Classic vanilla custard tart

Author: Flavelo
Recipes Cakes and Desserts
The secret to a perfect tart is the balance between crumbly pastry (pâte brisée) and silky filling. The dough is right when it has a 'sandy' texture and almost melts in the mouth, achieved by using cold butter. The custard is truly delicious when using real vanilla, evidenced by tiny black specks.
🕒 Prep Time 30 mins
🍳 Cook Time 35 mins
⌛ Total Time 1 hr 5 mins
🍽️ Servings 8 servings
🔥 Calories 360 kcal
🌍 Cuisine European

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

  • Tart tin (ceramic or metal)
  • Rolling pin
  • Whisk
  • Foil and baking beans/rice for blind baking

Allergen Information

⚠️ Cereals containing gluten
⚠️ Milk
⚠️ Eggs

Instructions

1 ✓

Rub the flour and cold butter together quickly until it resembles wet sand. Mix in the icing sugar, salt, and egg yolk. Knead quickly.

Tip: Hand heat melts butter, which must be avoided. If butter melts during kneading, the pastry becomes hard, not short. Use a food processor if you have one.
2 ✓

Wrap the pastry in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Tip: Cooling re-solidifies the butter, ensuring a flaky, crumbly texture when baked.
3 ✓

Roll out the pastry and line the tin. Cover with baking paper and weights (e.g., baking beans), then blind bake at 180°C for 15 minutes. Remove weights and bake for another 5 minutes.

Tip: Weights prevent the pastry from puffing up or sliding down the sides.
4 ✓

Meanwhile, make the custard: Bring most of the milk to boil with the vanilla. Mix the cornflour and granulated sugar with the remaining cold milk until smooth.

Tip: Always mix cornflour with cold liquid to avoid lumps.
5 ✓

Pour the cornflour mixture into the hot milk and cook, stirring continuously, until thickened.

Tip: Once ready, fill the pastry immediately, as it forms a skin and sets while cooling.
6 ✓

Pour the hot custard into the pre-baked case. Bake for another 20 minutes until the custard wobbles slightly but the top is set. Cool completely.

Tip: It can only be sliced beautifully when cold, once the starch structure has stabilised.

Recipe FAQ

Why did the pastry shrink during baking?
You didn't rest it long enough in the fridge, or you over-kneaded it, tightening the gluten strands. Rest it to relax!
The bottom is soggy, what to do?
Pre-bake the pastry (blind bake) before filling, or brush thinly with egg white at the end of pre-baking.

Ingredients

  • 300 g Plain Flour
  • 150 g Butter (ice cold, cubed)
  • 100 g Icing Sugar
  • 2 Egg Yolks
  • 1 Vanilla Pod
  • 500 ml Milk
  • 100 g Granulated Sugar
  • 50 g Cornflour
  • 1 pinch Salt