Saffron and bay custard tarts with sticky blackberries
This beautiful, blackberry-speckled custard tart from Ben Tish is a great way to shake up an English staple. The ma’amoul-inspired tart base is infused with orange blossom water and mahlab, as well as finely ground semolina. It’s served with spiced, pomegranate-infused blackberries and a warm, saffron and bay custard.
Recipe taken from Mediterra by Ben Tish (Bloomsbury, £26 Hardback) Photography © Kris Kirkham
Ben says: 'My friend Maresh is a brilliant UK-based chef originally from the Palestinian city of Rafah, and he is responsible for the conception of this recipe. It is by no means traditional, but at its heart are the flavours and spirit of Palestine. I love the striking, contrasting colours – the sticky red blackberries leaching into the vibrant yellow custard. (You can swap the blackberries for hulled strawberries in the high summer months.)'
'The ma’amoul pastry used for this tart is incredible and very easy to work with. It’s a kind of Middle Eastern-style sweet biscuit, rather like a shortcrust, but nuttier thanks to the semolina flour. (For a traditional stuffed biscuit version, check out my recipe on page 205.) The pastry is traditionally flavoured with orange blossom water and ground cherry kernels (mahlab), both of which are available in Middle Eastern food shops and online. The custard I use here, however, is more traditional, similar to the classic Palestinian bread and custard pudding, aish el saraya.'
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- olive oil, for greasing the tin
- 1 large free-range egg, beaten, for an egg wash
Ma’amoul pastry
- 200g of plain flour
- 65g of icing sugar
- 50g of fine semolina
- 200g of unsalted butter, chopped
- 1 tbsp of orange blossom water
- 1 tsp mahlab, ground cherry kernels
Sticky blackberries
- 100ml of pomegranate juice
- 25g of caster sugar
- 3 black peppercorns
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 unwaxed orange, zest grated
- 200g of blackberries
Saffron and bay custard
- 300ml of double cream
- 4 fresh bay leaves
- 1 pinch of saffron threads
- 3 large free-range egg yolks, and 1 large free-range egg, beaten together
- 2 tbsp of caster sugar
Equipment
- 20cm loose-bottomed tart tin
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas Mark 6. Grease a 20cm fluted tart tin with a removable base and set aside
- olive oil, for greasing the tin
First make the pastry. Mix the flour, icing sugar and semolina flour together in a bowl
- 200g of plain flour
- 65g of icing sugar
- 50g of fine semolina
Melt the butter over a low heat, then pour over the flour mixture. Add the orange blossom water and ground cherry kernels and, using your fingers, mix well until you end up with a malleable pastry
- 200g of unsalted butter, chopped
- 1 tbsp of orange blossom water
- 1 tsp mahlab, ground cherry kernels
Transfer the pastry to the tart tin and use your fingers to press it across the base and up the side, leaving a good edge to account for shrinkage. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes to set
To make the sticky blackberries, place the pomegranate juice, sugar, peppercorns, cinnamon stick and orange zest in a saucepan over a high heat and bring to a boil, then continue boiling until the liquid reduces by half. Reduce the heat to low, add the blackberries and simmer for 4 minutes, or until they are tender and the syrup is rich and sticky. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool
- 100ml of pomegranate juice
- 25g of caster sugar
- 3 black peppercorns
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 unwaxed orange, zest grated
Once it is cool, remove the blackberries from the syrup and set aside with the syrup separately
Line the pastry with baking parchment and cover with baking beans or uncooked rice. Bake the pastry for 10 minutes, or until set and just baked – it should still be quite pale in colour
Meanwhile, make the custard. Place the cream and bay leaves in a pan and heat until bubbles appear around the edge. Turn off the heat and add the saffron threads
- 300ml of double cream
- 4 fresh bay leaves
- 1 pinch of saffron threads
Whisk the 3 egg yolks and the whole egg with the caster sugar in a bowl until light and pale, then slowly whisk in the warm cream until fully incorporated – do this slowly to avoid curdling. Pour back into the pan and heat very gently, stirring, until it thickens
- 3 large free-range egg yolks, and 1 large free-range egg, beaten together
- 2 tbsp of caster sugar
Remove the pan from the heat and pour the custard through a fine sieve into the pastry case, then add the bay leaves. Arrange the blackberries in the custard and finally brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash
- 1 large free-range egg, beaten, for an egg wash
Place the tin on a baking sheet and return the tart to the oven for 20 minutes, or until the custard is just set and the pastry has browned. The blackberries will have started to burst through
Place the tart on a wire rack and leave for 20 minutes before removing from the tin and leaving to cool completely. The blackberry syrup can be poured over the tart when serving
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