Get aheadDessertA week’s worth of smart desserts – a summer cake, a classic trifle, a tray of Portuguese tarts and a deep-fried Spanish treat – from two clever custards
Ahh, custard. Who doesn’t like the lovely yellow stuff? It’s an absolute cinch to make and improves just about every dessert. However, that’s all it’s really good for. Luckily the clever French came up with crème pâtissière (literally “pastry cream”) – a thickened, more stable version of custard that is much better for baking with. You can make a big batch at the weekend, then keep it wrapped in your fridge until you’re ready to use it – it’ll last five days. It can also be used as the base for fruit in tarts, piped into profiteroles or spread between layers of cake.
To make the crème pâtissière
Don’t panic if it goes a little lumpy; just keep stirring and it will eventually become smooth and silken. If all else fails, however, pass through a sieve.
Makes about 1.6kg
1 litre whole milk
300ml double cream
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
12 egg yolks
240g caster sugar
40g cornflour
40g plain flour
Icing sugar, to dust
1 Put the milk, cream, vanilla pod and seeds in a large heavy-based pan and bring up to the boil. Keep an eye on it as it can easily boil over. Immediately turn down to a simmer and let it bubble away for 3 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, whisk together the yolks and sugar until pale and light, then whisk in the flours. Take the milk off the heat and allow to cool for a minute or so. Discard the vanilla pod.
3 Slowly whisk about a third of the warm milk into the egg mix, then pour that into the milk pan and return to a low heat. Whisking constantly, slowly return to the boil, allowing it to bubble for 1 minute only. You’ll find that it’ll thicken almost immediately. Turn the heat down and continue to whisk for another couple of minutes to cook out the flour. It may start off a bit lumpy, but continue whisking and it’ll soon become smooth. Immediately transfer to a large baking dish or your largest Tupperware, smooth the top, sprinkle the surface with icing sugar (this prevents a skin forming), then leave to cool.
The teatime treat: easy Portuguese custard tarts
Quick and simple to whip up – the key is not to faff around with pastry too much: the warmer it gets, the less it tends to behave. These are very similar to the Portugese version, just with added cinnamon swirling in the pastry.
Makes 12
A small knob of butter
300g pre-rolled puff pastry, cold
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 heaped tsp caster sugar
450g crème pâtissière
100g whole milk
Icing sugar, to dust
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Generously butter a 12-hole muffin tray. Cut the pastry in half across the middle, then sprinkle one half evenly with the cinnamon and the sugar. Put the other half on top, then roll out again into a sheet the same size as the original sheet. Roll up tightly like a swiss roll, then cut into 12 even slices. Roll each slice into 10cm-diameter discs, then press into the muffin tray and stab a few times with a fork.
2 Transfer the crème pâtissière into a saucepan and place over a medium-low heat. Whisk in the milk until mixed – the crème pâtissière will become very lumpy but will become smooth again with some brisk whisking and a little heat. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
3 Spoon the crème pâtissière into each pastry, filling them right up to the brim (it may seem like too much, but it will rise and deflate). Dust each one with a little icing sugar. Put in the oven for 35-45 minutes until the crème pâtissière has a few dark spots and the pastry is golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin completely before serving.
The summer bake: cherry and custard cake
Between the pops of cherry and the creamy nuggets of custard, there’s never a boring mouthful with this cake. You can always substitute the cherries with other fruit if you wish: blackberries would be great, as would raspberries or blueberries.
Serves 10
For the cherries
45g soft brown sugar
400g cherries, stoned and halved
1 tbsp butter, plus extra for greasing
For the cake
150g soft brown sugar
150g butter, at room temperature
3 eggs
150g plain flour
4 tbsp ground almonds
1½ tsp baking powder
350g crème pâtissière
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Line and grease a 21cm cake tin with butter.
2 For the cherries, put the sugar and 1 tbsp of water in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and cook for a moment until it begins to bubble and the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the cherries and butter and cook for a few minutes until the fruit begins to soften, then take off the heat.
3 For the cake, cream together the sugar and butter until pale and light. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then fold in the flour, almonds and baking powder.
4 Pour a third of the batter into the tin, spread it out with a wet table knife, then dollop over teaspoonfuls of the crème pâtissière and spoon the cherries on top, leaving behind the juices (use for a cocktail!). Spoon the remaining batter over the top, spread again with a wet table or palette knife and put in the oven for 60-70 minutes. Cover it with a little baking paper after 50 minutes or so if it’s turning a little too brown. A skewer put in the centre should emerge clean if it’s done. Leave to cool in the tin before serving.
The classic dessert: peach, raspberry and custard trifle
Despite being embarrassingly retro, trifle is still a brilliant dessert, with its colourful layers and different textures. It takes just a few minutes to assemble and sits in your fridge happily, so is a great last-minute or do-in-advance pud. This version is inspired by the wonderful peach melba, but you can of course use whatever fruit you have at hand, such as plums or just berries.
Serves 8
4 peaches
40g caster sugar
2 tbsp floral honey
200ml sweet white wine (water works just as well)
200g raspberries, plus a few reserved for decoration
220g shop-bought madeira cake or leftover sponge cake
400g crème pâtissière
300ml double cream
50g toasted flaked almonds
1 Peel the peaches first: Put the fruit in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 2-3- seconds, then scoop out and immediately cool under running cold water. Use a small knife to remove the skins, remove the stone and cut the fruit into eighths. Put to one side.
2 Put the sugar, honey and wine in a large pan and simmer over a medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. As it begins to simmer gently, add the peaches and cover with a round piece of baking paper. Leave the peaches to continue simmering for 7-8 minutes until just tender, then scoop out and place at the bottom of your trifle bowl. Return the pan to the heat and boil the syrup for 8-10 minutes to reduce it, then pour it over the peaches and leave to cool.
3 Once the peaches are cool, spread the raspberries on top in an even layer. Cut the cake into 1cm-thick slices then place on top of the raspberries. Spoon the crème pâtissière over the cake slices. In a large clean bowl, whisk the double cream until you have soft peaks, then spoon it over the crème pâtissière , working from the outside in (this will prevent the cream sinking into the custard). Chill it in the fridge for an hour.
4 Scatter the almonds on top and decorate with a few reserved raspberries before serving.
The moreish morsel: Spanish leche fritta with cinnamon
If you haven’t tried deep-fried custard before, stop what you are doing and make it now! The key to this is that the crème pâtissière is chilled enough, as it won’t hold together if too warm. Deep-frying can be terrifying at home, but using a wok somehow makes it less stressful. A jam thermometer is also very useful in this situation.
Makes 8 pieces (serves 4)
400g crème pâtissière , chilled
Vegetable oil, for frying
100g plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
100g caster sugar
1 Cut the crème pâtissière into 50g/5 x 5cm cubes and keep chilled in the fridge until you need them.
2 Place a wok or a deep, heavy-based pan over a medium-high heat and add enough oil to come 4cm up the sides. Heat until a thermometer registers 180C or until a cube of bread turns golden in 45 seconds.
3 Sprinkle the flour over a large plate and mix the cinnamon and sugar on another plate. Prepare a third plate with kitchen paper for draining the leche fritta when it comes out the oil.
4 Working in batches of 4 squares at a time, coat each square in the flour, then very carefully lower into the hot oil and cook for 60-90 seconds until golden, then scoop out, leave to drain for a second on the kitchen paper and very gently toss in the cinnamon sugar mix before serving.
The Kitchen Cooperative – Georgia Levy and Benjamin Benton – are caterers, consultants and cooks. Follow them on Twitter: @Kitchen_Co and Instagram: @thekitchencooperative; thekitchencooperative.com
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