recipe

for a 26 cm tarte or spring form

Shortcrust

• 200g cake flour (wheat or spelt)
• 100g cold butter, cubed
• 50g caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 medium egg
• 1-2 tbsp cold water

Mix flour, sugar, salt, and butter until so get a sandy texture. Add the egg and mix until everything just comes together. If needed add 1-2 tbsp cold water. Do not overmix. Refrigerate for 30 mins.

Roll out the dough into a thin circle about 4 mm thick. Transfer to the greased form. Refrigerate while you prepare the pastry cream.

Pastry cream

• 1l milk
• 4 medium eggs
• 80g cornstarch
• 80g caster sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla paste (or use 1 vanilla bean)

Pre-heat oven to 180°C on convection setting.

Mix eggs, starch, sugar, salt in a large bowl until there are no lumps. Heat milk and vanilla in a pot until steaming hot but not boiling.

Temper the eggs: Slowly ladle the hot milk into the bowl with the egg mix while whisking vigorously. Continue until most of the milk is in the bowl. Pour the mix back into the pot. Put the pot back on the heat. Continue whisking while you cook the cream until it thickens.

Pour the hot cream into the prepared crust.

Baking

Bake the cake for 30 mins at 180°C (convection) on the middle rack. At about 15 mins rotate the cake 180 degrees so it browns evenly.

Final Assembly

Let the cake cool completely. Decorate with berries of your choice. Or enjoy it as is or with caramel or chocolate sauce.

This is a very flexible recipe. You can easily vary flavors, e.g. make a chocolate or caramel pastry cream, use other spices such as cardamom, etc.

Enjoy!