Emelia Jackson’s egg custard tart with quince puree

Name: Emelia Jackson’s egg custard tart with quince puree
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 10-12
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 23cm pre-baked

Emelia Jackson

July 21, 2023

Egg custard and a layer of quince puree baked in the perfect tart shell.Armelle Habib STYLING: Lee Blaylock

Time:2 hours +Serves:10-12

Home-made custard tart, eaten the same day it’s made, is the stuff of which dreams are made. This version layers silky, just-set custard over ruby-red quince puree. It’s topped with a heavy grating of nutmeg for a nostalgic spice-scented finish.

Ingredients

23cm pre-baked tart shell

QUINCE PUREE

2 quinces, peeled and diced
100g caster sugar
½ cup water
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
3 cloves

EGG CUSTARD FILLING

720ml thickened cream
250g egg yolks (about 14)
150g caster sugar
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or seeds from 2 vanilla bean pods
1 whole nutmeg

Method

QUINCE PUREE

Step 1
Place all the quince, sugar, water and spices into a small saucepan and cook over low heat for 1-1.5 hours, or until the quince has completely softened and is a bright red colour. The cooking time will depend on the size of the quince. Keep an eye on this and top up with water as needed.
Step 2
Remove the spices and blend the fruit to make a smooth puree. Set aside to cool.

EGG CUSTARD FILLING

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 130C fan-forced (150C conventional).
Step 2
In a saucepan, gently warm the cream until just simmering. Meanwhile, combine the yolks, caster sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and mix gently to combine. Be careful not to aerate the mixture as we don’t want any bubbles on top of the tart.
Step 3
Once the cream is simmering, temper the egg yolk mix by adding ⅓ of the warm cream mixture and giving it a good whisk to make sure it’s thoroughly combined before mixing in the remaining cream. Strain the custard mix to remove any lumps of cooked egg yolk. If you see any air bubbles on top of the custard, remove these with a spoon.
Step 4
Spread a 1cm layer of quince puree over the base of the cooked tart shell, followed by the custard filling. I like to pour the custard filling in over the back of a spoon to ensure that it doesn’t disturb the quince layer.
Step 5
Using a fine Microplane grater, grate some nutmeg over the surface of the custard – as much or as little as you like.
Step 6
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the outer edges of the tart have set, and the inside still gives a good wobble. Allow the tart to cool completely before setting it in the fridge for 1 hour before serving. This tart is best eaten the day it’s made.