VEGAN PORTUGUESE CUSTARD TARTS

It’s Duncan who you’ve got to thank for this recipe. He was on me to veganise Portuguese custard tarts for a long time, while I was somewhat reluctant. I don’t know why… I guess given how much the traditional recipe relies on dairy and eggs, I just didn’t think the taste would be anything to write home about… Boy, I was so wrong! These puppies are aaaammmaaazing and I don’t make proclamations like this lightly.

Even though my initial hunch that using a mixture of cashews and silken tofu was the best way to replicate the silkiness and richness of a traditional custard filling, I still had to spend a lot of time getting the ratios exactly right and I experimented with different custard consistencies to get this final result. I was getting a bit custard obsessed and kept on tinkering and tinkering, always feeling like I should try again as I can improve on what I’ve got.

Luckily for you, you’ve got Duncan. While I would happily keep on going, he is much more capable of drawing a line under things. He is my voice of reason who often tells me: ‘Ania, you’ve done enough. Everybody loves these, please don’t waste the time you could be spending on a new recipe instead!!’ I know he is right. I can be a pain. And I’ve learned never to argue back (or to at least pick my battles) as my perfectionism can certainly get out of hand at times and isn’t doing anyone any good. I mean, let’s face it, a recipe is useless to you unless it’s published, right? Well, it is published now and I hope you’ll make these pronto (or should I say rápido) and will love them as much as we did!

INGREDIENTS
CUSTARD

• 120-150 ml / ½ cup + 1-2 more tbsp maple syrup, adjust to taste
• 125 g / 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in boiling water for 30 mins
• 200 g / 7 oz silken tofu (I use Clearspring)
• zest of 1 lemon + 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla extract
• a pinch of ground saffron (or saffron threads) or a few pinches of turmeric
• 2 tsp cornflour / cornstarch dissolved in 1 tsp water

REMAINING INGREDIENTS

• 320 g / 11 oz vegan puff pastry*
• oil, to grease the baking tin
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon mixed with 2 tbsp icing sugar (optional)

METHOD
CUSTARD

1. Place 120 ml / ½ cup of maple syrup and drained cashews in a blender. Process until silky smooth (if the mixture is bitsy, keep on processing, it will get smooth eventually even if you have an average blender like mine).
2. Add all the remaining ingredients apart from saffron (if using) and cornflour / cornstarch and process until smooth. Sweeten with extra maple syrup to taste, if needed. If you plan on sweetening your pastry (see step 2 of the ASSEMBLY section), this may not be necessary.
3. ...............................................

for full recipes please see : www.lazycatkitchen.com

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