MILKTART WITH CARDAMOM
Crust:
400g puff pastry (shop bought)
Filling:
400ml milk
200 ml single cream
1 stick of cinnamon, crumbled
1 green cardamom pod
60 ml plain flour (4 level tbsp)
60 ml caster sugar (4 level tbsp)
30g butter
2 eggs
2 drops almond essence
Finishing:
30 ml caster sugar
3 ml ground cinnamon
1. Heat the milk, cream, cinnamon and cardamom until it almost reaches boiling point. Cover and let stand for 30 – 60 minutes.
2. Roll your ready-bought flaky pastry to about 3mm and line a 24 cm tart tin with it, letting the pastry hang over the edges a little (this will prevent shrinkage).
3. Prick the bottom of the pastry all over with a fork.
4. Bake blind (put baking paper in the pastry shell and weigh it down with dry beans or chick-peas) for 15 minutes at 225*C.
5. Remove the beans and paper and brush some egg and milk mixture onto the pastry to glaze it. Put it back into the oven for another 5 minutes.
6. Mix the flour and sugar together in a mixing bowl.
7. Reheat the milk mixutre and pour through a sieve into the flour mixture and beat well with a whisk.
8. Pour this mixture back into the rinsed milk pot and cook on low heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly with your whisk.
9. Take off the heat and add the butter.
10. Let it cool a little, then add the eggs one by one, whisking very well after each egg.
11. Add almond essence and whisk well. (BeVERY careful with the almond essence. More than 2 drops will ruin the subtle flavour).
12. Pour the custard into the tart shell and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180*C for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top.
13. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar generously over the warm tart.
14. Serve warm or at room temperature
NOTE: The cinnamon sugar tends to melt if the tart is covered and kept until the next day. If you want it to look authentic, sprinkle the sugar over just before serving.
Source: Ilse Hoberman
