Maids of Honour - Traditional English Custard Cheesecake Tarts
- Ready In:
- 1hr
- Ingredients:
- 18
- Yields:
-
24 Maids of Honour
- Serves:
- 24
ingredients
-
Shortcrust Pastry
- 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
- 1⁄3 cup vegetable shortening, in teaspoonfuls (use a good shortening such as Crisco)
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1⁄8 teaspoon rose water (optional) or 1/8 teaspoon orange flower water (optional)
- 1 pinch salt
-
Maids of Honour Custard Filling
- 1 vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
- 1⁄2 cup heavy cream, plus 2 tablespoons
- 1⁄4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1⁄4 cup ground almonds
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1⁄4 teaspoon rose water (optional) or 1/4 teaspoon orange flower water (optional)
- fresh ground nutmeg
- icing sugar, for dusting
directions
- Pre-heat the oven to 425F degrees.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour with the diced butter and the scant teaspoonfuls of shortening. Cover and place the bowl into the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in another bowl, place the eggs, lemon juice, rosewater or orange-flower water, and a pinch of salt and put in the refrigerator. Using a food processor (or by hand, but this will take some elbow grease), blend the fats and flour until the pastry just begins to come together, yet still is a little coarse and crumbly. Take care not to over-blend, as this process goes quickly, so watch carefully. Gradually feed the liquids in through the feeder spout until the pastry is almost coming together. Scoop it out onto a flour-dusted work surface and knead a few times with your hands, then form into two discs, wrap each disc in cling wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before rolling out.
- While pastry is chilling, make the filling. Cut lengthwise down the vanilla bean with the tip of a sharp knife. Place the vanilla bean with the cream into a saucepan, and heat to just under the boiling point over a medium heat. Do not boil or it will curdle. Off the heat and remove the bean, scraping some of the seeds into the cream. Now add the butter, sugar, ground almonds, egg, lemon zest and juice, and the rosewater or orange-flower water, stirring well to combine. Let stand for about 10 minutes.
- Roll out half the pastry, cut out 12 rounds with a 3-inch round cutter, and place into a 12-hole tart or muffin pan, pressing down with your fingers so they're well lined. Spoon half the filling into the pastry cases (remembering you'll have a second batch to do). Leave a good inch below the rim, as the custard will rise up as it bakes. Dust lightly with some fresh nutmeg and transfer carefully to the pre-heated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the custard's golden and puffy.
- Let the tarts sit in the pan for a few minutes before standing, unmolded, on a wire rack to cool. Dust tops with icing sugar.
- When the pan is cool, repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- Leave the tarts to cool a little before serving (arrange them on a pretty serving plate or silver platter), but they are best eaten still slightly warm.
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
Have any thoughts about this recipe?
Share it with the community!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>Married to my sweetheart for almost forty years and we have two wonderful children who are grown and have flown the coop. Also, we have been blessed with a wonderful son-in-law and beautiful daughter-in-law, plus FIVE grandchildren: two beautiful granddaughters ages five and eight, and three sweet adorable little grandsons ages 2 months, 2 years and 3 years. My husband and I share a combination of English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Dutch, Swiss, Polish, Austrian, German and French heritage, and our son-in-law and daughter-in-law are both Hispanic. We've traveled extensively to many countries abroad (we lived in Germany), and have traveled and lived in several states here in the U.S.A. Many of the recipes I post here are influenced by our combined heritage or from our travels, or they are old family favorites that I want to share with you. I hope you enjoy! Have been to culinary school with many years of cooking (mostly for my family) under my belt, so know my way around a kitchen. And I'm very lucky to have the best sous chef in the world, dddddh! One of my favorite chefs of all time is Jacques Pepin! I have several of his cookbooks, and enjoy watching his television cooking show Fast Food My Way. Another top favorite is Julia Child (of course!). A few other chefs I read/enjoy watching on t.v. are: Giada At Home, Ina Garten's The Barefoot Contessa, Nigella Lawson's Nigella Bites, and Patti's Mexican Kitchen, and many more. On my bucket list is dining at Thomas Keller's establishment The French Laundry in Napa Valley, California... as well as Alice Waters' Chez Panisse in Berkeley, and the James Beard award winning Tartine Bakery and Cafe in San Francisco. One day!! Hobbies/Interests: Decorating with fresh flowers and herbs from the garden is my passion, and brings me deep joy! It's really hard to beat!! I love connecting with others who enjoy the same. Gardening, decorating, sewing, music, dancing, film, and reading are also up there. Spending quality time with my grandchildren, family, and friends (and cooking holiday meals!). Currently, a newfound passion has been so richly rewarding for me: genealogical research. I heart ancestry dot com. And last but certainly not least, I absolutely LOVE cats--we have two half-Siamese fur babies (cats) that allow us to live here!! A Note of Thanks~ I try to personally thank everyone who kindly makes and reviews my recipes, but sometimes I am busy, late, or may forget. Please know that I am always humbled that you would try one of my recipes, and I enjoy reading the reviews and seeing all the pretty photographs. Thanks so much! </p>