This incredibly creamy crustless custard tart transforms a handful of humble ingredients into an elegant dessert with a consistency similar to New York style cheesecake.
I am a fan of custard anything. There is something magical about how a few simple ingredients - eggs, milk, and (sometimes) sugar and cream - come together to form something so delicious and versatile that it can be transformed into something so versatile and delicious.
The most obvious example is, of course, pastry cream which is commonly used to fill all manner of cakes and pastries like profiteroles or cream filled doughnuts. Or Hokkaido baked cheese tarts, a popular Japanese dessert that are as easy to make as they are addictive. Custard sauces are perfect for drizzling over Irish Apple Cake or Apple Slab Pie, and are the foundation of custard style ice cream.
The list of custard dessert recipes are as endless as they are simple and comforting. Most are made from ingredients that are easy to come by and can be served deliciously plain or all gussied up with fruit, preserves, or a sauce.
That is what this Crustless Custard Tart is. Making it is as easy as coating a pan with butter and sugar, and whisking together a one-pan custard.
This tart will keep well in the refrigerator for up to three days (honestly, it will probably keep a couple of days longer than that), and is lovely served plain, with fresh fruit, blueberry sauce, any kind of preserves (peach preserves being a favorite in our house), or caramel sauce.
Can you see how creamy this tart is?
I wish I could reach through the screen right now and give you a bite of custard tart, because the level of silky smooth creaminess just doesn't come across in pictures. You have to taste it.
The closest thing I can think of to describe its consistency is a really good New York-style cheesecake. Not the no-bake variety - rather, the kind of thickly sliced, rich and dense, yet smooth and creamy, slice of heaven that nearly melts in your mouth. That's what it's like to eat a slice of this Crustless Custard Tart.
📖 Recipe
Crustless Custard Tart
This incredibly creamy crustless custard tart transforms a handful of humble ingredients into an elegant dessert with a consistency similar to New York style cheesecake.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ¾ cup granulated sugar + enough to coat inside of a 8 or 9-inch cake pan
- 2 large whole eggs + 8 large egg yolks
- ⅔ cup cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small bowl in the microwave or in a small pan on the stove top. Use a pastry brush or paper towel to coat the inside of a 8 or 9-inch cake pan with the melted butter. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the inside of the bottom of the pan, place it in the pan, and brush the top of the paper with melted butter. Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of sugar inside the pan and shake it around to coat the bottom and sides of the pan completely.
- Add ¾ cup sugar, eggs and egg yolks, cornstarch and salt to a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Whisk to combine. Slowly add the milk and cream, whisking constantly to combine.
- Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, just until the custard begins to thicken and you can see the marks of the whisk in the custard as you stir. If you have one, a thermometer can be helpful - cook the custard to 160 degrees.
- Remove the pan from the heat and press the custard through a fine mesh sieve set over a large bowl. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.
- Let the custard cool, uncovered and stirring every now and then, until barely warm to the touch - about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan, smoothing the top into an even layer. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the top is a rich golden brown and the custard look set, but is still a bit jiggly in the middle - like Jello.
- Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to let cool completely. Run a knife or flat metal spatula around the edge of the pan to loosen the sides of the cake. As you do, the sugar coating on the pan will flake onto the edges of the cake, which looks lovely. Quickly flip the cake out of the pan onto a plate or baking sheet that's been covered with a sheet of parchment paper. Then, flip the cake over again, so that it's right side up, onto a serving plate.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 3 days.
Serve with: Fresh fruit, blueberry sauce, peach preserves, or caramel sauce.
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Kelly says
This recipe looks brilliant! Would it be possible to add fresh berries to the custard prior to baking? Or will that result in a watery/loose custard? I have many fresh raspberries from my garden that I would love to mix into this custard.
Rebecca Blackwell says
Good question, Kelly. I'm not totally sure... but I think it might add too much water to the custard, resulting in the whole thing falling apart. Probably a better option would be to top the tart with the fresh raspberries right before serving. You could even macerate them in a liquor... an orange or lemon liquor would be fantastic. Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, I'd love to know what you think of this tart after you make it! Also, I'm super envious of the fact that you have tons of fresh raspberries in your garden. 🙂
Donna Babylon says
I got a chance to try a coconut custard version and was quite frankly disappointed. I used coconut milk (2 cans) and heavy cream, and also coconut flavoring. I toasted to coconut for the topping. However, all of those efforts did not result in a strong (if any) coconut flavor. The final product was beautiful but the taste just didn't develop. I am wondering if perhaps too many eggs over powered the other flavors. The final thing I didn't like was the consistency of the custard. It was "gummy" to my palette - more pudding- like and not what I consider to be custard. I think it was correctly made, but I personally did not like the result. It was really fun to make and I enjoyed the experimentation. If anyone has any suggestions, I would be willing to try this again.
Rebecca Blackwell says
Thanks for reporting back Donna! I'm going to have to think about how you might make this work... I suspect the best thing to do might be to start over with a completely different recipe, although I'm not 100% sure what that should look like. Everything is figure-out-able. It's just might take some time to get there.😊
Donna babylon says
Could I make this into a coconut custard pie? I’m looking for a truly castles pie (not an impossible pie). I was thinking of substituting coconut milk for the milk and add shredded coconut into the mixture. Any insight? Thanks!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Donna! Great question. You can substitute coconut milk for cow's milk in most custard recipes, so I think it would work in this one as well. However, I'd suggest using canned coconut milk, not the kind in cartons in the dairy case. Also, I'd keep the heavy cream, substituting only the milk for coconut milk. If you want a stronger coconut flavor, a teaspoon or so of coconut extract might be a nice touch. I'm a bit concerned that adding shredded coconut to the custard might interfere with how well it sets up. You could certainly try it, but if you wanted to play it safe, you could rely on coconut milk and extract for coconut flavor in the custard itself and then top the tart with a layer of shredded coconut (toasted might be nice). Does that answer your question? If you try this, will you let me know how it goes? I'm super curious now and think you might be on to something wonderful. xo
Annie says
As soon as my custard got to 160, it looked and smelled like scrambled eggs! Is this supposed to happen? What did I do wrong?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Annie! My guess is that you were cooking the custard over too high of heat. It's important to bring the custard to 160 degrees slowly because when eggs cook too quickly, the proteins coagulate and, as you saw, turn into scrambled eggs. Are you working over a gas stove? With some kinds of gas burners, it can be difficult to maintain a low flame. I'm wondering if that might have been the issue? So bummed that your custard scrambled because I think you'd love this tart. 🙁 xo