Baked Egg Custard Tart

Baked Custard Tart

Ingredients:-

1 flan case

500g Litre Milk

2cm vanilla bean or 1/2tspn vanilla essence

3 free range eggs - at room temperature

1 egg yolk at room temperature

Pure glucose powder - i use 1 tspn (optional ingredient)

Nutmeg

Method:-

Preheat oven to 180degrees.

Place the milk in a medium saucepan. Use regular full-cream milk to give the custard a rich flavour. Use a small sharp knife to halve the vanilla bean lengthways and then scrape the seeds into the milk. Add the bean halves to the milk. (If using vanilla essence, add it to the milk after heating or the flavour will be lost through evaporation.) Heat the milk, uncovered, over medium heat for 5 minutes. Do not let the milk boil. Heating the milk infuses it with the vanilla and also reduces the custard's baking time. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes to cool. If the milk is too hot when added to the eggs, they may curdle. (Add the vanilla essence, if using.)

1. 
   
   Place the whole eggs, egg yolks and glucose in a large heatproof bowl with a pouring lip (this will make it easier to pour the custard into the flan). Use a fork to mix until well combined. Do not use a whisk as it will aerate the mixture, causing bubbles to form in the cooked custard.
2. 
   
   Place the bowl on a damp cloth to prevent it from slipping on the bench. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly with the fork. Pour the custard mixture through a fine strainer into the flan case. Straining the mixture removes the vanilla seeds and pod, and ensures that the mixture is as smooth as possible.Sprinkle the ground nutmeg evenly over the surface of the custard. Nutmeg is an aromatic spice whose sweet, spicy flavour marries well with milk-based dishes and custards.
3. 
   
   Reduce oven temperature to 160°C. Bake for approx 40-45mins. To test if the custard is cooked, insert a knife in the centre. If the knife comes out clean or with just a little softly set custard clinging to it, it is ready. The custard will continue to cook when removed from the oven so don't allow it to overcook or it will begin to separate. Another sign of overcooking is tiny bubbles throughout the custard. It will still be edible but the texture won't be as smooth. Set aside until cooled to room temperature before serving. To serve chilled, cool for 2 hours, then cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight. The chilled custard will have a firmer texture.
   
   

   Recipe Notes:-

   
   
   *A dish that can be a dessert or just a nice snack, make it as sweet or as savoury as you like. Serve with some nice HFI vanilla icecream (link to come) or have a slice with a cup of coffee.
   *If you can't find a flan case that is already pre-packaged, just use short cut pastry in quiche dish and it will be much the same however just alter cooking time accordingly if needed.
   
   

   Nutrional Information:-

   
   
   *Eggs are a nutritional powerhouse providing 11 different vitamins and minerals, high quality protein, healthy fats (including omega-3) and important antioxidants.  Along with their nutritional value, eggs are tasty, convenient, versatile and good value for money making them an excellent inclusion in a well balanced, healthy eating pattern.
   Recent research shows eating eggs has very little, if any, effect on blood cholesterol levels with the real culprit being saturated fat. Containing no natural sugars and a small amount of glucose eggs are a healthy everyday ingredient for someone with HFI.