Recipe: Golden milk custard tart

Golden milk, also known as haldi doodh in Hindi is a milky drink made with a blend of turmeric, cinnamon and black pepper, and often sweetened with honey.

Custard tart is a dessert of simple pleasure – a buttery pastry base, wobbly custard and a nutmeg topping. In this case, the custard takes on the golden milk flavours for a deliciously delicate and unique creamy dessert. Try not to overbake this tart – as tempting as it may be to leave it in the oven longer, the centre should still have a vigorous wobble when tested after the required time.

Serves 8

Makes 23cm tart

Takes 1 hr 40 mins, plus overnight chilling

Effort level A little effort

Ingredients

• 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• ¼tsp salt
• 20g caster sugar
• 130g cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 3 egg yolks
• 1-2tbs cold water

For the filling

• 2½ tsps golden blend (see below)
• 450ml double cream
• 120g caster sugar
• 1 vanilla pod, halved lengthways
• 7 egg yolks
• ¼ nutmeg

Golden blend ingredients

• 2tsps ground turmeric
• ½tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼tsp finely ground black pepper

Tip the flour into a food processor, along with the salt, sugar and cubed butter. Pulse to a fine breadcrumb-like texture. Add the egg yolks and one tablespoon of the cold water, and pulse until the mixture comes together, adding another tablespoon of water if needed. Form into a puck, cover and freeze for 20 minutes.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of about 3mm, and use it to line the base of a 23cm fluted tart tin (pan). Freeze for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C fan.

Fill the tart with a disc of baking parchment and some baking beans, and blind-bake for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and bake for a further five minutes. Allow to cool.

For the filling, reduce the oven temperature to 130°C fan (260°F/ gas 2). Toast the golden blend in a dry frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat for two minutes, then transfer to a large saucepan and add the cream, half the sugar and the vanilla. Warm through over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove and discard the vanilla pod.

In a heatproof bowl, using a balloon whisk, whisk together the remaining sugar and the egg yolks, then pour in the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly. Pour this into the baked case and finely grate over the nutmeg. Slide into the lower part of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. The tart should be set with a wobble in the centre; it will set further as it chills.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the refrigerator for five hours, or ideally overnight. It will keep covered in the refrigerator for four days.

The Modern Spice Rack by Esther Clark and Rachel Walker (Hardie Grant, £22)