Maple Portuguese Custard Tarts - Recipe by Morgan Hipworth

Ingredients

1/2 cup maple sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup plain flour
2/3 cup full cream milk
2/3 cup cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthways and seeds scraped
3 free-range egg yolks
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, just thawed
1 Tbs maple cinnamon sugar (maple sugar mixed with ground cinnamon)
2 Tbs pure maple syrup (preferably amber syrup for its rich taste)

Method

Preheat the oven to 220 C and grease a muffin tin with canola spray or butter.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the maple sugar and water and bring it to a boil. Cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop the mixture from catching on the bottom.

While the sugar syrup is cooking, combine the flour and half the milk in a small bowl and whisk until completely smooth.

Place the remaining milk along with the cream, vanilla bean and seeds in a saucepan over low heat and bring just to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly strain the mixture over the flour mixture in the bowl.

Stir to combine then add the egg yolks and maple syrup and mix again to combine. Finally, slowly pour in the sugar syrup to finish the custard. Set the mixture aside.

Dust a clean, dry surface with flour then lay out the pastry sheet.

Sprinkle the maple cinnamon sugar over the top then carefully roll the pastry into a log.

Cut into 12 even pieces then use a rolling pin to roll out into rounds with an 8-cm diameter.

Press the pastry rounds into the muffin tin and three-quarters fill each one with custard.

Bake for 10–12 minutes or until the custard just starts to blister.

Serve warm out of the oven.

Credits: Maple from Canada

Photo Credits: Maple from Canada