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Basket Of Natas

We were all sitting round the kitchen table with the eldest Glam Teen (now no longer a teen) as he explained, with heightened hyperbole, ‘How Amazing.’ South America was.  Taking advantage of long summer holidays from university, he travelled to all the places he would’ve gone, had he taken a Gap Year.  Culminating, in his final extended summer holiday, with a trip to South America.  There were, of course, wonderful descriptions of the Far East, Bali, Vietnam, Cambodia, Australasia and finely that trip to South America.  What every country had in common was minute descriptions of the street food.  In each place he visited there was a particular dish that stuck in his mind.  The wonderful Portuguese inspired tarts that he’d had in Brazil were a fairly constant topic. To the point where I decided I had to make them.

I’ve baked them several times, or more accurately, tried to bake them and failed.  Now that I’ve made these, I’ve no idea why they were so tough to get right for so long.  And I fully understand why, in amongst the garrulous garble, Natas were the most talked about street food.  A delicious sweet puff pastry, filled with a creamy baked custard, fragrant with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Soft and cool, sweet and flakily crispy.  A delicacy well worth getting right.

Natas Delicious Custard Tarts

Natas, Portuguese Baked Custard Tarts

• 1 packet ready made puff pastry
• 100g icing sugar
• Butter for greasing the muffin tin

Filling  Creme Patissiere

• 250mls full fat milk
• 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste
• 3 egg yolks
• 60g caster sugar
• 25g plain flour
• Ground cinnamon for sprinkling
• Fresh grated nutmeg to taste

Natas, Sweet Crispy , Flaky, Custard Tarts

Method

• Grease a 12 hole muffin tin with butter
• Sprinkle the icing sugar on the work top and roll out the pastry to about 5mm thickness, adding more icing sugar if needed
• Using a circular cutter or glass cut pastry circle to fill the muffin tin. Folding the pastry to fill the tin
• Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes
• Pre heat the oven to 200c
• Pour the milk into a medium saucepan
• Slit the vanilla pod down the length and scrape the seeds from the inside.  Add to the milk with the pod.  Or add the vanilla paste
• Place the sugar and egg yolks in a bowl and whisk by hand until the colour changes to pale yellow.  ( this will vary depending on how yellow your yolks were to start with)
• Add the flour a little at a time whisking to combine, set aside
• Over a moderate heat bring the milk to a high simmer
• Remove from the heat and add a little to the egg yolk mixture whisking to combine
• Add the remainder of the milk, removing the vanilla pod, if used, whisking to avoid lumps
• Add back to the pan and bring to the boil whisking constantly
• Cook for a further minute to cook out the flour and thicken the creme patissiere
• Leave to one side to cool slightly. Cover with cling film directly on the surface of the creme to stop a skin from forming
• Remove the muffin tin from the fridge and 2/3 fill each pastry case
• Sprinkle with ground nutmeg and cinnamon to taste
• Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes
• The custard centres will puff up in the oven like a soufle but collapse on removal to create the required custard dip in the tarts
• Bake until golden brown
• Remove from the oven, leave to cool for 5 minutes and then remove to a cool on a rack.  Do not leave the tarts to cool in the muffin tin as the icing sugar will have caramelised on the pastry and the tarts will stick once cold
• Enjoy warm or cold

Natas, A Delicious Custard Tart

Caramel Swirled Banana Bread

On Saturday nights as a small child, my mother would make mashed bananas for tea.  She would turn them into a sweet sticky puree by simply squishing them with a fork, it seemed miraculous to me.  Then she’d add a little brown sugar  and spread it on slices of brown bread topped with unsalted butter.  The light brown bread with the sweet bananas and the creaminess of the the butter made a perfect mouthful.  It was my most favourite meal.

This banana bread combines all of those delicious ingredients, to create a sweet loaf with a slightly caramalised crust.  Perfect sliced straight from the oven or lightly toasted. Continue reading →

Sausage Rolls In The Oven

The ultimate British convenience foods have always been the pastie, pie and the good old sausage roll.  I’ve never been that keen on sausage rolls, which are often undercooked, flabby and greasy.  For me, they remind me too much of Suday tea at school.  An over-sized vol au vent filled with, what can only be, chopped bits of newspaper.  You know that grey colour when the paper gets wet.  However these sausage rolls seem to be a big hit with the Glam teens.  Whenever they’re off anywhere they always request them.

When the they took off skiing, there was only one request for the long drive to Switzerland.  The New Londoner also asked for a pack to take to Halls with him.  The secret, although its obvious, is all about the contents.  its not about finding the cheapest sausage meat you can get and trying to tart it up.  It’s about finding the best sausage meat and using that.  In fact I use good quality sausages, their favourites.  And turn those into sausage rolls.  However you could take a good quality sausage meat and add sage or honey, or even finely chopped chorizo to your pork. Continue reading →