Custard Tarts

Delicate and Delectable

The history of the Custard Tarts spans a large period of time as well as in immense variety. Custard Tart recipes can be found parti-colored, made from almond milk or combined with fruits or even savory meats.1 Translation by (Huguenin, 2004) After trying several recipes, I have chosen to redact one that I feel produces a most delectable tart. The recipe comes from the text The Babees Book, a book written as an education manual for growing children. The Babees Book borrowed the recipe from a set of books written in the 15th century called Two fifteenth-century Cookery-Books, which is a compilation of two works written around 1430 and 1450 respectively. I will also present a 14th century tart using the same recipe that is not pre baked as is the 15th century tart, so that the taster may experience the difference between a similar recipe made in a different manner.

The 15th century recipe is as follows:

Doucettes. Take Creme a gode cupfulle, & put it on a straynoure, anne take olkys of Eyroun, & put er-to, & a lytel mylke; en strayne it row a straynoure in-to a bolle; en take Sugre y-now, & put er-to, or ellys hony for defaute1 of Sugre; an coloure it with Safroun; an take in cofyns, & put it in e ovyn lere, & lat hem ben hardyd; an take a dysshe y-fastenyd on e pelys ende, & pore in comade in-to e dyssche, & fro e dyssche in-to e cofyns; & whan ey don a-ryse Wel, teke hem out, & serue hem forth.2

My redaction reads: Doucettes. Take cream a good cupful, and put it in a strainer; then take
1 2

(Original unknown, Earlist publication 1395) Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430), & Harl. MS. 4016 (ab. 1450),

Custard Tarts | Arts and Science | The Society for Creative Anachronism

yolks of eggs and put them in too, and a little milk; then strain it through a strainer into a bowl, then take sugar enough, and put it in too, or else honey for default of sugar (if you dont have sugar), then color it with saffron; then take thin coffins and put in the oven empty, and let them be hard; then take a dish fastened on the end; and pour thin comade (your mix of custard) into the dish, and from the dish into the coffins; and when they done rise well, take them out and serve them forth.

The 14th century recipe is as follows: Daryols. Take creme of cowe mylke, oer of amaundes; do erto ayren with sugur, safroun and salt. Medle it yfere. Do it in a coffyn of ii ynche depe; bake it wel and serue it forth.

My redaction reads: Daryols. Take cream of cow milk, other of almonds; do thereto eggs3 with sugar, saffron and salt. Meld (mix) it fair. Do it in a coffin of 2 inches deep; bake it well and serve it forth.

After making so many types of custards from the 14th century and onward one liberty I did take was to add a pinch of cinnamon. It has been said that almost all good custards are flavored with cinnamon and sugar. 4 This assertion is based on the intensive studies of 18 verities of medieval custard tarts, spanning 5th century Italy to 16th century England. 10 of the 18 recipes include cinnamon and I chose to allow this spice as it heightens the taste of the tarts immensely. This is likely why it was so commonly used. (Huguenin, 2004).

(Huguenin, 2004)

One should also note the pasty crust. Most recipes from the 14th-15th centuries give little detail as to how to make a crust for the custard coffins. After searching fairly tirelessly for a reason for the lack of a pasty crust recipe, one finally appeared, in the book The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages. Scully suggest "pastry or bread have no place among the significant recipes of a house." 5 Basically what I gather in this statement is that pasty was so commonplace in period cooking that it would have been well known to anyone attempting the dish. So to make my pasty crust I followed closely to the one I prefer to make many other middle aged dishes out of which is from Baroness Jehanne de Huguenin, (do look up her web publications if you get a chance, very interesting,)

Pasty and Custard recipes:

Custard, 12 egg yolks (save the whites for an egg wash) A pinch of saffron Crocus sativus soaked in a tablespoon of water 8 ounces of heavy cream cup milk cup Sugar A pinch of cinnamon Cinnamomum verum A pinch of salt (generally added towards the end of cooking)

Tart Pasty,(Huguenin, 2004) Pastry: Flour, both finer white and whole wheat Unsalted butter Water (as cold as possible)
5

(Scully, 1995)

Sea Salt Saffron Crocus sativus Fresh eggs White sugar

On to the preparation! Custard tarts, though simple in appearance can be slightly tricky to create or, to be more accurate, they can be very easy tomake poorly. One must be mindful of all steps of the process or risk curdling milk, scrambling eggs and overfilling pastys. A heavy hand with spices can ruin the pastys delectable and delicate flavor. The first step in making the tarts is to soak the saffron in a couple spoonfuls of water, thus releasing the color and flavor (some feel saffron has no flavor, I contest that wholeheartedly, and enjoy both its aroma and earthy yet sweet taste). Combine the pasty ingredients mentioned above into a large bowl. The easiest way to form your Cofyn or shell is to use a shallow dish. Roll your pasty out nice and flat, approximately a inch in thickness, keeping your pasty as even as possible. Cut a circle larger than your mold and lay that over the mold. You dont wish your crust to rise up or bubble and to keep that from occurring, as noted in, The Medieval Cookbook, by Maggie Black, you may fill the bottom of your pasty with dried beans (dont use riceit bakes in to your pastytrust me) .6 You must bake your crusts on a low temperature to dry them out or make them slightly hard. My advice is to watch them though the duration as you dont wish them to overcook or burn. Generally, I cook them for approximately ten minutes, remove the dried beans and cook for another 4 minutes. If you have concern over soggy bottoms brushing an egg wash (egg white and water beaten until fluffy) before baking will typically fix the issue. Now your cofyns are ready to be filled.
6

(Black, 1992)

Making the custard mixture takes time and watchfulness; dont walk away for any extended period as with any science experiment, custard can change in a blink of the eye. Mix all ingredients together except the salt: Egg yolks, Saffron (the water soaked saffron, strain the pieces out) heavy cream, milk (whole is my preference) white sugar (honey can be used as well), and cinnamon. Blend your ingredients well; add the salt in towards the end of cooking. Amounts can be tricky but what I will say is try to have enough egg to produce a mixture with the texture of runny pudding. You may have to add an extra yolk here or there to create what you want. A general rule for me about 7 yolks to a cup and a half of cream with only a splash of milk. Make your tarts a few times and you will most likely begin relying on sight and texture. Tarts researchers (yes we exist) have found two common ways to handle the mixture at this point. One school of thought is to sit the pot by a fire and let the mixture stand until thickening occurs. Another way is to blend and heat the mixture and then pour it into the tart shells. I have chosen to create both so that tasters may see the differences in texture between the two methods. The non pre heating methods can be traced to 14th century recipes7 and the pre heated in later centuries.8 When your mixture thickens in the molds, bake them until they are a golden brown and solid, yet springy to the touch. Tarts can be served warm, cool, or at room temperature.9 Sit back and enjoy the delicacies your ancestors perfected. No matter what you call them: tarts, Diriola, Daryalys, Doucetes, Flathons10 we can all agree they are delicious.

7 8

(Original unknown, Earlist publication 1395) (Huguenin, 2004) 9 (Black, 1992) 10 (Huguenin, 2004)

Dried beans to hold form

Baked Cofyns

Clear side by side 15th and 14th

Bibliography Black, M. (1992). The Medieval Cookbook. London: British Museum Press. Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430), &. H. (1430 and 1450). Two Fifteenth Century Cookbooks. London: Oxford University Press. Huguenin, B. J. (2004). The Great Custard Tart Caper. Retrieved March 2012, from http://www.3owls.org/sca/cook/custard.htm. Original unknown, c. g. (Earlist publication 1395). Le Viandier de Taillevent. (J. Prescott, Trans.) Eugene, France: Alfarhaugr Publishing Society. Scully, T. (1995). The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages. Woodbridge: Boydell. Unknown. (14th Century). 14th century Forme of Curye . England.