Yinzer Yums of Yesteryear: A centuries-old tart

Craving a specific dessert while the bakeries are all closed (NYE, New Year’s Day) has its pitfalls. However, I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty and attempt to create a custard tart at home. I want the classic version: something old-school that’s baked in a classic pastry crust and has that perfect balance of firmness, a caramelized crust, and delightful fruit.

The earliest reference to custard tarts that I could find in Pittsburgh was from a 1925 article in The Pittsburgh Sunday Post entitled The Post Cook Book by Jane Eddington. While the cookbook feature mainly refers to different varieties of pastry creams, the custard tart is mentioned. In fact, each item is discussed with a sense of nostalgia, a nod back to the European and English pastry traditions and the subtle nuances within each dish.

According to Baking for Britain, “custard tarts have a long history in Britain and were served at the Medieval table where they were known as doucets or darioles. Henry IV had a doucet at his coronation banquet in 1399.” And in Lisbon, the world-famous bakery Pastéis de Belém claims to use the original ancient recipe first produced in the nearby Jeronimos monastery. Then there’s the French, with their own version of this marvelous treat, said to be crafted with the same delicate process and fine ingredients since before the Middle Ages — though I’m pretty sure they’re no longer topping this delight with eel.

We as Americans, as Steel City dwellers, have always drawn inspiration from the foreign homelands of our forefathers. My English roots go back to Yorkshire, prior to my first American ancestor (a criminal, of course) landing on Rhode Island in the 1660s to pay off his debt. I’m sure I’m not the only mixed-breed American mutt human in Pittsburgh to share and celebrate the culinary roots of my DNA.

And that brings me back to the 1925 article on custard creams and a custard tart. Just like today’s recipe bloggers, Ms. Eddington offers “hacks” (though she didn’t use that word because that word didn’t exist in that context) for each tried and true, old-school custard. And these recipes haven’t changed much, if at all, in the last 100 years. But I love the variations in flavors offered here. Sadly, an epic pastry crust is missing from this article, and a good crust recipe is what I need most.

Fast forward to 1987. I’m five years old and have no idea that John Snow (my OG ancestor, not the dude from Game of Thrones) ever existed. The Pittsburgh Press releases a killer recipe for Fresh Fruit and Custard Tarts. Is it new and inventive? Hardly. But does it make a killer crust? You bet.

The 1987 recipe reads as follows:

French Pastry Cream:

• 1 cup sugar

• ½ cup cornstarch

• ¼ tsp. salt

• 1 cup milk +

• 2 cups milk

• 4 egg yolks

• 1 tsp. Vanilla

In a 2-quart pan, combine 1 cup sugar, ½ cup cornstarch, ¼ tsp. Salt, and 1 cup milk. Stir until cornstarch is dissolved. In another pan, scald 2 cups of milk over medium heat; add slowly to the sugar mixture, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and stir constantly for 2 minutes, then remove from heat.

Beat 4 egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Stir half of the milk mixture into yolks, then stir all back into the pan. Cook over low heat until thick enough to mound on a spoon (5-7 minutes). Pour into a bowl; stir in vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set.

By varying the fresh fruit topping, you can use this recipe to make dozens of different tarts.

Sweet Butter Pastry:

• 1 ⅓ cups flour

• ¼ cup sugar

• ½ cup butter

• 1 egg

In a bowl, stir together flour and sugar. Cut butter into chunks and add to flour mixture; stir to coat. With a pastry cutter, blend into flour until fine particles form. Add egg and stir with fork until dough clings together. With your hands, gather dough into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

I loved this crust and did not change a thing. I found it a bit difficult to roll out at first, but once I got it going, it was pretty seamless. In fact, for once, I didn’t tear a big hole in the crust!

After rolling it out, I refrigerated it for a couple of hours, until I was ready to make my pastry cream. (It can probably go overnight if you want to make it ahead.)

I lined the bottom of my 11-inch tart pan (with a removable bottom) with parchment paper. Then, I asked my 10-year-old kiddo to vent the dough with a fork. I lined the top with parchment paper. Then I added a layer of foil with some rice on top to weigh down the dough so it would not bubble in the oven. I baked the shell for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. Then, I pulled the weights and foil and baked it for another 5 minutes.

While I enjoyed the flavor of the French pastry cream from the 1987 recipe, It was a little bit gritty and just a tad too sweet. Plus, I wanted a custard I could bake up inside the crust and caramelize nicely on top. I tossed the first batch and re-grouped.

I found a recipe for custard tarts in my saved files that was similar to this one. Instead of 3 cups of milk, this recipe called for ¾ cups each of whole milk and heavy cream. It only called for ½ cup of sugar (less is more!), ¼ cup of cornstarch (less grit), 2 whole eggs (no waste), 2 tsp. vanilla, and 2 Tbsp. melted butter.

For the new custard, I added the milk and cream to a small pot over medium heat. When the milk began to bubble, I turned off the fire and added the vanilla. Then, in my 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup, I beat the eggs and cornstarch together. I added the sugar, then I poured in the melted butter. I whisked this mixture until there were no chunks of cornstarch. (Note: an immersion blender with a whisk attachment would have made this easier.) I slowly poured the milk and cream into the egg mixture while my daughter stirred it together.

Then, since I decided this tart was going to be topped with some delicious baked apples, I added a teaspoon of cinnamon to the mix.

Once the shell emerged from the oven, I poured in the custard. I kept the temperature at 350, and started watching the crust edges after 30 minutes. I covered the edges with a bit of foil, and then returned it to the oven for 18 more minutes.

It’s best to allow a pastry like this to cool down to room temperature, and then refrigerate. I cooled this in the Kenmore for 2 hours before adding the apples. I used my mom’s recipe for baked apples (below), which I made the day before and refrigerated overnight, covered.

Mom’s baked apples:

• 5-6 small to medium-sized apples (I used Honeycrisp apples here), cored and sliced thin

• 2 tbsp. lemon juice

• 2 tbsp. water

• 1 tsp. salt

• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice mix or cinnamon

• 4 Tbsp. melted butter

• ¼ cup cornstarch

• 2 Tbsp. sugar

Dump all ingredients into an 8×8 or 9×9 glass baking dish. Stir together and bake at 350 for 45 minutes, covered with foil. Remove the foil, stir, and bake for another 10-15 minutes until soft.

The final result of my baking efforts is a custard tart perfect for the winter months. The warm flavors of the cinnamon and apples make this the perfect recipe for a cold winter day around the fire.

This article appears in Jan 1-7, 2025.