Gypsy Tart

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •23cm loose-bottomed tart tin
• •Rolling pin
• •Baking parchment and baking beans
• •Electric hand whisk or stand mixer
• •Large mixing bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the pastry

   Tip the flour, icing sugar and salt into a bowl. Add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Lift the flour as you go to keep it cool. Stir in the egg yolk and just enough cold water to bring the dough together. Press it into a flat disc, wrap it, and chill for at least thirty minutes. Cold pastry rolls better and shrinks less.

   If your kitchen runs warm, give the cubed butter ten minutes in the freezer before you start. Pastry forgives a lot, but it doesn't forgive a hot room.
2. 2

   Line the tin

   Roll the chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface to about the thickness of a pound coin. Lift it carefully into a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin, pressing it into the corners without stretching. Trim the edges, leaving a small overhang to allow for shrinkage. Prick the base all over with a fork and chill again for fifteen minutes while the oven heats.

3. 3

   Blind bake

   Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan. Line the chilled pastry with baking parchment and fill with baking beans or dried pulses. Bake for fifteen minutes, then lift out the parchment and beans and bake for another five to eight minutes, until the base looks dry and pale gold. Trim the overhang flush with the rim while it's still warm. Turn the oven down to 200C/180C fan.

4. 4

   Whip the filling

   This is the whole trick of the thing, and it depends entirely on the evaporated milk being properly cold. Tip the chilled evaporated milk into a large bowl with the muscovado sugar and a pinch of salt. Whisk on high speed for ten to twelve minutes. Don't be tempted to stop early. The mixture goes from a thin brown puddle to something thick, glossy, and the colour of wet earth, holding soft ribbons when you lift the whisk. It should look like a mousse. If it still looks like a milkshake, keep going.

   The cold matters. A warm tin of evaporated milk will refuse to thicken no matter how long you whip it. Twenty-four hours in the fridge is not too much.

   Break up any lumps in the muscovado with your fingers before it goes in. Dark muscovado has a habit of clumping in the bag, and you don't want little nuggets of dry sugar in the finished tart.
5. 5

   Fill and bake

   Pour the whipped filling into the blind-baked pastry case. It will rise almost to the rim, glossy and bronze. Slide it carefully into the hot oven and bake for ten minutes only. The top should look set and slightly tacky, like the skin on a good caramel. It will still wobble in the middle when you nudge the tin. That's right. It firms as it cools.

   Trust your nose. When the kitchen smells of dark toffee and warm sugar, it's nearly there. A minute or two too long and the filling cracks. A minute or two too short and it sets to fudge instead of mousse.
6. 6

   Cool and set

   Let the tart cool in the tin on a rack until it reaches room temperature. The filling will continue to set as it cools, going from a wobble to a sliceable, sticky cloud with a thin caramel skin on top. Don't try to cut it warm. Patience now, reward later. Serve in modest slices. It's richer than it looks.

Chef Tips

• •Chill the tin of evaporated milk for at least twenty-four hours before you start. This is non-negotiable. It is the difference between a mousse and a milkshake.
• •Use dark muscovado, not soft brown sugar or light muscovado. The deep, almost treacly note of proper dark muscovado is the entire flavour of the tart. Anything paler will give you something sweet and forgettable.
• •A shop-bought all-butter pastry case is no shame here. The filling is the star, and on a weeknight there are few better shortcuts. If you do go that way, give it five minutes in a hot oven to crisp up before you fill it.
• •Serve it on its own, or with a small spoon of plain yoghurt or creme fraiche to cut through the sweetness. It does not need cream. It is already extravagantly rich.
• •This is not a tart for the next day. It's at its best within a few hours of cooling, when the top is still tacky and the filling has just set. After a night in the fridge it gets denser, more fudge than mousse. Still good, but a different pudding.

Advance Preparation

• •The pastry can be made up to three days ahead and kept wrapped in the fridge, or frozen for up to a month. Let it soften slightly at room temperature before rolling.
• •The pastry case can be blind-baked the day before and kept in the tin, loosely covered, until you're ready to fill it.
• •Chill the tin of evaporated milk at least twenty-four hours ahead. The filling itself cannot be made in advance. It needs to go straight from the bowl into the oven.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 125g)