Duke of Cambridge Tart
Ahead of the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend, we'd thought we'd share our famous Duke of Cambridge Tart recipe with you!
Historically the oldest tart in England, The Duke of Cambridge Tart pre-dates the Bakewell Tart. Originally, it was made with candied peel, breadcrumbs, brown sugar and butter. A little bit like a treacle tart but a lot more crumbly. So, when we opened Parker's Tavern I made it my mission to re-create this tart and bring it back from the 18th century, making it delicious once again. Believe it or not, it took 33 tries to get right. Eventually we found that if we made a beautiful tart case, place candied citrus peel on the bottom and pour over a brown sugar custard, that had enough sugar in it to give it that elasticy tang. Once baked, we serve with a dollop of clotted cream, and there we are, a modern Duke of Cambridge tart for a modern Duke of Cambridge.
For the pastry
• 235g plain flour
• 165g cold butter, chopped, plus extra for greasing.
• 1 medium egg, beaten
For the filling
• 250 g muscovado sugar
• 250g dark brown sugar
• 40 g custard powder
• A pinch of salt
• 250g unsalted butter
• 160 g double cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 egg yolks
• 2tbsp marmalade
• 2tbsp candied chopped peel
Comments
You will need a 25-30 cm tart case. Or you can always buy a pre made case.
Method
For the tart case
To make a tart case, place the flour and butter in a food processor blend until it looks like breadcrumbs, Add the egg and a tsp of cold water, pulse into a smooth dough this will only take a couple of seconds in a food processer, wrap tightly in cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Line a 25cm in diameter tart case with butter and then dust with flour. Roll out the chilled pastry to 3-4 mm thick and line the tart case, rest this in the fridge for another 20 min.
Once rested blind bake the pastry case by lining with greaseproof paper and placing baking beans on top, bake for 25 minutes at 180c. Once cooked remove the beans and paper from the tart.
For the filling
Blend the sugars and salt add them to the egg yolks and custard powder and gently mix.
In a sauce pan boil the cream, vanilla and butter, while still hot add it to the egg yolks mixing all the time.
Take the tart case spread the marmalade and sprinkle the candied peel evenly
Pass the mix through a sieve and pour into the tart case and bake for 1 hour at 120 C.
And serve with a generous dollop of clotted cream like we do here at Parkers Tavern. Enjoy!
