Well usually I'm not a huge sweet tooth. Yes, I know! Famous last words and all that. Or maybe it’s just something that you say to people when you feel like they are staring at you because you've just eaten the last biscuit in the jar but honestly I'm not.

There are, however, a few things that tickle my fancy in the sweet arena and those things I love. And when I say love, I mean, really love! Like lurve love! Those things include creme caramels (delicious, creamy, silky custard with a tan top and a gorgeous glossy, caramel sauce that has just the tiniest hint of bitterness), pavlova (crunchy but sticky, soft but chewy, sweet but topped with whipped cream for richness and fruit for a little tart kick), chocolate mousse (light and airy but rich and velvety with a smooth chocolately finish) and baked New York style cheesecake (creamy, rich, sweet but somehow savoury with that feathery finish as you run your spoon down the inside). Ok I'm done.

Except for.....Portugese Custard Tarts. You know, the ones that are all brown and almost burnt looking (I think as a foodie I'm meant to say "caramelised") on top but then squishy and silky as you bite down cupped in what seems like a million layers of flakey golden brown pastry. I first discovered these in Barcelona when I was a back packing hooligan and my love of food was there but perhaps still in it's developmental stages. (That actually means I loved eating but hadn't fully discovered my love of cooking!) I remember thinking they looked a lot different to the dodgy commercially made pastry tarts filled with fluro yellow custard and sprinkled with nutmeg, I used to get in my high school lunch order.

Thankfully they also tasted a lot different....in a totally amazing way. Since then I have often been known to pick one up when passing my favourite local market's Spanish cafe where they sit invitingly on the counter. I have also discovered some really good ones at a little food store on the Great Ocean Road at Wye River in Victoria. But....the time had come to create them myself and I knew the CombiSteam would make the task a whole lot easier. Sure enough....I was right!

Here's the recipe. I promise YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!

Makes: 24 tarts

Ingredients:
375g pkt Careme puff pastry (frozen)
150ml full cream milk
300ml thickened cream
1 vanilla bean
2 strips orange rind/zest
150g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
3 tbs cornflour

Method:

1. Remove pastry from the box and place into the Combi-Steam. Select Steam. Set the temperature to 30°C and the timer to 15 minutes.

2. Place the milk, cream, orange rind and sugar in a medium saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthways and pop it into the mixture. Use a whisk to gently combine.

3. Place over medium heat and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Allow mixture to come to the simmer (do not boil it) then remove it from the heat and set aside for the flavours to infuse for around 30 minutes.

4. After the cream mixture has cooled, whisk the whole eggs, egg yolks and cornflour in a medium mixing bowl until well combined.

5. Pour the cream mixture through a fine sieve into the eggs, whisking constantly as you go. Discard the vanilla bean (or set it aside to dry then pop into a jar of caster sugar to flavour!) and orange rind.

6. Pour the custard mixture back into the saucepan, through the sieve to make it extra silky, and place back over medium heat, whisking gently (making sure you get right onto the bottom and into the edges to stop lumps forming) until it reaches a simmer. Remove from the heat and carefully place a layer of cling wrap on top pressing it down gently so it sits right on top of the custard. This will stop a "skin" forming. Set aside to cool.

7. Carefully unroll the thawed pastry into a flat sheet. Use a rolling pin to roll it into a thinner sheet, extending the longest sides so that it measures around 36cm in length.

8. Cut the pastry in half across the middle. Roll each half tightly into a spiral roll.

9. Cut each roll in half and then cut each half into 6 slices around 1cm thick. You should have 24x1cm thick spirals of pastry.

10. Roll out each spiral into a round about 8.5cm in diameter. (Don't be too fussy here, some of mine were actually more square than round and it still worked! Once they puff up all is forgiven!)

11. Lightly grease 2 x 12 hole cupcake trays then place one pastry round in each of the holes.

12. Remove the cling film from the custard and divide between the pastry cases, spooning it in to each one. About 1 dessert spoon per case works well.

13. Place the trays into your Combi-Steam, one on Rack 1 and one on Rack 3. Don’t pre-heat the oven.

14. Select your Combination Steam function (Hot Air+Steaming) Set the temperature to 220°C. For variable Steam setting select 40%. Cook for 25 minutes or until the pastry is dark golden brown and the tops look a little dark in place.

15. Remove and place the trays on a cooling rack. Allow tarts to cool in trays for 5 minutes. Remove carefully with a blunt knife and allow to cool completely on the rack. (I somehow lost two here before they cooled!)

16. Enjoy or store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge. (Allow to come to room temperature before eating after storing in the fridge.)

Notes:
Careme is a beautiful quality, commercially made pastry available at nice food stores and delis. You could try this with regular puff pastry however my tests were done with Careme.

V-ZUG specific tips:
*These can be cooked completely automatically in a V-ZUG Combi-Steam using BakeOMatic - Fresh Aperitif Nibbles - Medium OR Dark Browned. Put into a cool oven and remove at the end of the cooking time - let the sensors set the time and adjust the temperature.

*You can also try Professional Baking™ in a V-ZUG Combi-Steam and set the time and temperature as above. This function is specifically designed for pastries & breads and will give you a professional Steam Phase initially before heating up to the temperature.

Happy Combi-Steaming!

Yours in the kitchen,

The CSQ. x