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!
Make a simple custard base by blending the first three ingredients, then transfer the mixture to a pot and thicken in with cornflour slurry over low heat.
Roll out coils of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface until you obtain circles of pastry big enough to line muffin hole moulds completely.
Lay rolled out pastry over a muffin hole mould. Using your fingers, gently line the inside of the muffin hole with the pastry so that it fits snugly.
Fill with thickened custard, then trim excess pastry off using a sharp knife. Bake until the filling is barely set and the pastry is puffed up and golden.
320 g / 11 oz vegan puff pastry* oil, to grease the baking tin 1 tbsp ground cinnamon mixed with 2 tbsp icing sugar (optional)
