A slightly calmer week in the Bake Off tent saw the contestants getting to grips with pastry.
There were tears, timing issues and tricky flavours as the bakers pulled out the stops to produce a selection of perfect pies and tasty tarts.
Norman’s simple fare once again elicited Paul Hollywood’s stinging criticism and even a flare of creativity in the form of lavender meringue wasn’t enough to save him.
Among the show stopping three tiered Pi-Eiffel towers and the pear shaped technical challenge, it was the humble custard tart that got us thinking about alternatives for the egg intolerant. This simple and delicious recipe can be adapted to include different flavourings, fruits or spices.
Egg Free custard tart
What you need
- 190g plain flour
- 150ml coconut cream, warmed
- 150ml rice milk, warmed
- 125g butter
- 40g cup caster sugar
- 40g icing sugar
- 3 eggs worth of Ogran ‘no egg’
- 1 egg yolk worth of Ogran ‘no egg’ (1 tsp of ‘no egg’ + 1.5 tbsp water)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pinch of nutmeg (extra to sprinkle)
Blind Bake the Pastry
- Grease a round base pie tin
- Blend the flour, icing sugar and butter together into a breadcrumb like mixture
- Add the vanilla extract and ‘egg yolk’ and blend into a dough
- Shape into a ball, cover with cling film and refrigerate for 30 mins
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C (fan assisted) and place baking tray in the oven
- Roll the pastry out and line the tin. Place baking paper over the pastry and fill with baking weights or uncooked rice. Bake for 10 minutes
- Remove the weights and paper and bake for a further 5 minutes until the pastry is golden
The Filling
- Reduce the oven to 160°C/140°C fan assisted
- Whist the remaining no egg, sugar and rice milk and coconut cream together and pour into pastry
- Sprinkle with nutmeg and bake for 35 minutes or until just set
- Cool completely and devour!
By stu_spivack (originally posted to Flickr as egg custard tart) [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
