serves
8
prep
30 minutes
cook
1:20 hour
difficulty
Mid
serves
8
people
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
1:20
hour
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 1 egg, for brushing
- whole nutmeg, for grating
Orange almond pâte sablée
- 180 g caster sugar
- 100 g (1 cup) almond meal
- 260 g (1 ¾ cup) plain flour
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ½ orange, zest finely grated
- 200 g cold unsalted butter
- 1 small egg
Custard
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 500 ml (2 cups) thickened cream
- 60 ml (¼ cup) milk
Chilling and cooling time: 2 hours.
Instructions
- To make the pastry, place all the ingredients except the egg into a food processor and pulse until the mixture looks sandy in texture. Add the egg and pulse just until the mixture comes together. Tip the dough onto a clean bench top and shape into a roughly 2 cm-thick disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, to make the custard, gently whisk the eggs and sugar together until just combined. Stir in the remaining custard ingredients and set aside until needed.
- Preheat a fan forced oven to 170 ̊C. Grease a 25 cm tart tin with a removable base and line the base with baking paper. Alternatively, you can use 4 to 6 individual tart tins about 10 cm round.
- Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until 4 mm thick, then use it to line the base and sides of the prepared tart tin/s. Make sure to gently press the pastry into the corners, then against the edge of the tin to pinch away any excess. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork at 4 cm intervals, then chill in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
- Place the chilled pastry case/s on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. As soon as it emerges from the oven, brush the bottom with a double layer of egg wash, then stand until cooled to at least room temperature. Reduce the oven temperature to 90 ̊C - 100 ̊C.
- Carefully pour the custard into the tart case, making sure you don’t spill any over the sides, then bake for 1 hour or until just set (very wobbly). Remove from the oven and finely grate nutmeg over the top. Chill until the custard has set, then cut with a hot knife to serve.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.