Apricot Custard Tart

"Return to ice chest until jellie custard is set." Probably my favourite recipe instruction ever. Even down to the spelling of jellie.  

This took so long, but I can tell you that the effort is worth it. This is delicious, just delicious. Custard and apricot in a shortcrust pastry base. Topped with a meringue-type thing. There are recipes out there for shortcrust pastry, however I cheated a little and used a pre-prepared mixture, and literally just added water before rolling the pastry out. Yeah well, I wish I felt guilty about that, but my god this already took hours and I did not have the patience to make pastry from scratch this weekend. It's hot and I turn into the human equivalent of grumpy cat when it's like this. And it's still only Spring...

Now, back to the pastry case. I did bake a number of small pastry cases, rather than one larger case — I wanted to be able to share my custardy largesse, as well as be able to say I live in a house full of little tarts... Sorry, that was terrible. Small things amuse small minds and all that. No really, I wanted to photograph the little tart on my mini cake holder — which incidentally my Nanna made in one of her ceramic classes, it even has her initials scratched into the base of it — and the little tart tins I have fit it just so. Nanna would have laughed at my little tarts joke, just FYI. She would also have laughed at my facial expression and rolled eyes as I came across the part of this recipe which asks me to 'beat the egg white to a meringue consistency'. Yes, very helpful and descriptive thankyouverymuch. I furrowed my brow and remembered an episode of Masterchef where contestants had to hold bowls of beaten egg whites upside down without anything falling out.

Apricot Custard Tart

Apricot Pulp

250g dried apricots

Lemon juice, from a lemon half

3 tbsp. sugar

Soak the dried apricots overnight. 

Drain the soaked apricots, place into a saucepan, with ¾ cup water and sugar. Simmer until fruit starts to break apart. Beat apricots to a pulp and set aside.   

Tart

One 20cm pastry case cooked and cooled (or purchased and opened)

570ml milk

1 egg, separated

2 tbsp. custard powder

4 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. grated lemon rind

3 tbsp. gelatine dissolved in 3 tbsp. water

Blend the custard powder with some of the milk, and place onto heat.

Add the rest the of milk, 2 tbsp. sugar and bring to the boil. Simmer, while stirring, for 3 minutes.

Cool slightly, then add beaten egg yolk and lemon rind. Set aside to cool.

When nearly cold, add the dissolved gelatine.

Pour into the pastry case, and allow to set . Pop into the fridge to help this along if needed.

Once set, spread a thick layer over the custard.

Beat egg whites with 2 tbsp. sugar until very thick and forms stiff peaks. Place spoonfuls on top of tart, then place under a grill until lightly browned.

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For those of you who are not in Australia, please find here a selection of Measurement & Temperature Conversion Charts which should help with the accuracy of your own cooking.