If you love apple pie with custard you’ll love this delectable baked custard tart with spiced apple. Buttery pastry, creamy rich custard and tart apples with just a hint of spice. The whole family will fall for this divine dessert.
Each weekend after gymnastics class, my three-going-on-thirteen-year-old daughter and I sneak to our favourite cafe for a coffee (fluffy) and a treat. Its basically the only time she and I get alone these days and I really cherish this little moment of mummy-daughter time.
Preschool gymnastics involves an awful lot of running around, jumping and general craziness and Miss Fare Sage is often ravenous after the class. On a normal day she becomes the devil if she even sniffs at sugar so we try to avoid it as much as possible, but after the exertion of gymnastics she needs to refuel. Her favourite treat is mini custard fruit tarts.
For me the sweet custard topped with sweet strawberries and grapes and glazed with sweet jam is a bit of an overload. And its just as well they’re not to my taste, theres no chance of her sharing! But while we don’t share a love for these tarts, what I can appreciate is the attraction of creamy custard topped with fresh fruit.
This baked custard tart with spiced apple is just the right balance for me. Buttery, crumbly pastry on the base. The custard has a subtle caramel flavour thanks to the brown sugar but its not too sweet. Then its topped with delicate slices of tart apple laced with cinnamon that provide a wonderful balance.
This baked custard tart is a brilliant make-ahead dessert. While I’ve noted an hour of prep time, a lot of it is downtime while you wait for the pastry to rest or bake. Make a cuppa or catch up on your Netflix! Actual hands-on time is pretty minimal. And once the tart is baked and cooled you can pop it in the fridge and forget about it until you’re ready to serve. Then simply dust with a little more cinnamon and icing sugar if you like, slice and devour. 
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Serves: 8
- 225g plain flour
- 60g icing (powdered) sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 125g butter, chilled
- 1 egg
- 200ml milk
- 200ml cream
- 4 tbsp soft brown sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 1½ tbsp custard powder
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 2 large apples
- Juice of half a lemon
- ½ tsp sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- Place the flour, icing (powdered) sugar and cinnamon into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
- Cube the cold butter and add to the flour. Pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Lightly beat the egg and add to the food processor. Process until a ball forms around the blades of the food processor.
- Remove the pastry from the food processor and press into a large flat circle, approximately 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 160C Bake. Grease a 23cm (9 inch) loose-bottomed pie or flan tin.
- Take the pastry out of the plastic wrap and gently roll between two sheets of parchment paper until it is 2-3 mm thick. Gently peel off the top layer of parchment paper and carefully flip the pastry over into the pie tin. Remove the parchment paper and carefully line the pie tin with the pastry. Trim the edges with a sharp knife.
- Line the pastry with the parchment paper again and fill with baking beans or rice. Bake blind for 15 minutes, then carefully remove the paper and beans and continue to bake for a further 7-8 minutes until lightly golden in the centre.
- Remove the pastry from the oven and set aside while you make the filling.
- Peel and core the apples and cut off the very top and bottom. Using a mandolin or kitchen slicer, finely slice the apples horizontally into rounds. Cut each round in half so you have thin crescent shape pieces of apple. Place the apple slices into a bowl and gently toss in the lemon juice.
- Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan over a medium heat until steaming, but do not allow to boil.
- Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, custard powder, vanilla and nutmeg together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.
- Pour the milk and cream into the egg yolks mixture a little at a time, whisking constantly. Carefully pour into the pastry case.
- Very gently lay the apple slices on to the custard mixture, overlapping slightly. Start from the outside and work inwards in a circular pattern until all the custard mixture is covered with apple.
- Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle over the apple.
- Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before refrigerating for at least 2 hours before serving.
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