PORTUGUESE TARTS

Serves 10 (See opposite)

Melted butter, for greasing 1½ tbsp cornflour

1¾ cups (45oml) milk 1 large egg

2 large egg yolks

⅓ cup caster sugar, plus extra

for sprinkling

2 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry,

thawed

¼ tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 210°C. Lightly grease 10 holes of a (⅓ cup-capacity) muffin pan with butter. Combine cornflour with ¼ cup milk to form a paste. Put cornflour mixture, egg, yolks, sugar, vanilla and remaining milk in a medium saucepan. Whisk over a medium heat for about

5-7 minutes or until custard thickens. Strain through a sieve over a heatproof bowl to remove any lumps. Cover surface of custard with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.

2. Cut pastry sheet in half. Sprinkle cinnamon over one half then top with the other half. Roll up firmly, from short side, to form a log. Flatten ends of log by tapping on bench. Cut into 10 even rounds, around 1cm thick. Roll each piece out on a lightly floured surface to a 10cm circle.

3. Line muffin holes with pastry, pressing gently into base and sides. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Spoon custard into pastry cases until 5mm from the top. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden.

4. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing from pan and transferring to a wire rack to cool. Allow tarts to cool to room temperature or chill slightly if preferred.

5. Sprinkle the top of tarts with a small amount of extra caster sugar and use a kitchen blowtorch to caramelise the tops lightly. Serve.

TIP: These tarts are best made on the day, to avoid the pastry from becoming soft in the fridge overnight.

OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:Vintage plate, as before. Vintage cup and saucer, as before. Vintage cake stand, as before. Scallop edge stoneware dish in Matte Black, as before. ‘Aalto’ bowl in Rain, $59.95, Iittala. Scallop edge raku dinner plate in Matte Black, as before. ‘Willow Wood’ Liberty napkin in Midnight, as before. For similar chopping board, try Chef Inox mango wood board,

as before. ‘T10 Barcelona Taupe’ floor mat, as before.