Giant Portuguese Custard Tart

Preparation

Preheat oven to 220ºC (430ºF). Use a tart pan with a removable bottom 22 cm or 8¾ inches in diameter.

Pass the yolks through a sieve.

In a medium pan, mix flour, sugar, and cinnamon (if using). Add cream and yolks, mix until well blended and then add lemon peel. Heat this mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally until it becomes smooth. Once the cream mixture is thicker, stir continuously. To test if mixture is ready, lift the spoon and try to draw on the pan with the cream dripping off the spoon: if the drawing doesn’t disappear, the mixture is ready. It took me 30 minutes total using an induction plate on maximum power.

Remove from heat and transfer to another container covered with plastic wrap. Let cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, thaw puff pastry. When pastry is at room temperature, roll it to about 3 mm thickness. Put it over the tart pan and cut off the excess with a very sharp knife. Place a sheet of parchment paper over the pastry, making sure that the edges are covered. Fill the cavity with beans and bake 12–15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and carefully take out the beans to a container to cool using the parchment paper, so you can save it and reuse it later. Place the pastry again in the oven for more 5 minutes. Remove and let cool on a wire rack.

Increase oven temperature to maximum (250ºC, 482ºF electric, or 260ºC, 500ºF gas) and let it warm up for at least 30 minutes. (If it beeps, indicating it’s ready, it isn’t.)

When both pastry and filling are at room temperature, pour filling over the pastry and smooth the top. Fold the long side of an aluminum foil sheet in half and cut a half moon in the center. This way, when you open the sheet of aluminum foil and put it on top of the tart, the pastry is covered but not the filling.

Bake for 5 minutes on the top shelf of the oven, being careful so it doesn’t burn. Then, place it on the bottom shelf, or on the bottom of the oven, for another 5 minutes, being careful so the base of the tart doesn’t burn.

Remove and let it cool on a wire rack. When you’re able to pick up the pan without burning your hands, unmold and treat yourself. Let it cool completely if you want a more firm filling—or if you can resist.

Notes:
1. It’s imperative that the oven is hot, otherwise the top of the filling won’t have that beautiful color and the puff pastry won’t be crispy and flaky.
2. If for any reason your oven is cold when you’ll bake the tart, the preheating time will be between 40–60 minutes.
3. The filling can be made up to 3 days in advance and kept in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap.
4. The crispness will be gone in one day or two, if you can resist for that long!