Baking is not easy for me. I have said this again and again with the hope that writing it down will somehow help eradicate the mental pain and suffering that I go through every time I put things into the oven. Baking is like being a manager at a company. As a manager you help build a team (the “ingredients” if you will). You select the best ingredients you possibly can and put them to work. You show them the ropes, and build a cohesive culture of teamwork and responsibilities (bringing all the ingredients together), and finally you give them the platform to build and showcase a finished product (the oven in the slowly sinking analogy). Here is the gamble. Here is where both as a manager and as a baker, you relinquish control. Here you have to wait and hope that all the work put in comes to fruition. You can take it out too quick, and yet you have to closely monitor as you get closer and closer to the impeding result. This gamble. This wait is what scares me about baking. The loss of control, the waiting, and the fact that there is nothing I can do in between to fix a mistake is why baking is still what keeps me peering into the oven every 2 minutes even though the bake time clearly states 12-15 minutes.

These custard tarts are new to me in many ways. There were not technically new, but were also made to usher in a celebration between Natasha and I. I made these little treats in the middle of the hottest June Delhi has seen in while as a gift to celebrate our one year of being together. Natasha talked about these custard tarts all year. How they were the most popular treat to come out of Portugal other than Christiano Ronaldo of course. How her friend Arushi and her ate so many during her trip to Portugal and how much she wanted me to make them for her. She asked for them for 6 months straight and I knew that if I played the long game and let her yearn for this a little longer, I could actually make it for special event rather than on just a random day. After months of delay (because of my phobia of making pastry dough), I finally decided to surprise her with these tarts (and cursed that we began dating in the hottest month of the year). As I went through the recipe, the process became easier. The stress kind of melted away and each successful step felt like a victory.

Making this tart went from being a stressful experience to one of the my favourite things to make because I was making it for someone special. The look that she had in her eyes, the happiness she derived from every bite, and the number of pictures she took of the tarts were all reminders that even though baking can be devil, it also has the ability to create magic.

Ingredients

For the pastry dough

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cold water

113 grams of unsalted butter, softened (you can use salted butter and omit the extra salt)

For the sugar syrup

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1 cinnamon stick

Zest of 1 lemon

For the custard base

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1.5 cups milk

6 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Combine flour, salt, and cold water in a bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until dough just comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Dough should be sticky; adjust with more flour or water to achieve what’s shown in the video.

2. Transfer dough onto a well floured surface. Dust a little more flour over the top. Knead for a minute or two to form a round. Cover and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Roll dough into a square about 1/8 inch thick, dusting with flour as necessary; dough should still be sticky.

4. Spread 1/3 of the butter over 2/3 of the square using a silicone spatula, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Flip the unbuttered side over the middle of the square and fold the opposite end over it like a letter. Straighten the edges as needed.

5. Turn dough with a bench scraper to unstick it from the counter; dust with flour. Flip and sprinkle more flour on top. Roll dough into a 1/8-inch-thick rectangle, carefully stretching edges as needed. Spread another 1/3 of the butter over 2/3 of the dough. Fold into thirds. Transfer onto a lined baking sheet and freeze until butter is slightly chilled, about 10 minutes.

6. Sprinkle dough with flour and roll into a square a little over 1/8 inch thick. Spread remaining butter over the dough, leaving a 1- to 1 1/2-inch border on the top edge. Dip your finger in water and lightly moisten the unbuttered edge. Roll dough into a log starting from the bottom edge. Dust with more flour and polish the ends as needed. Seal with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

7. Combine sugar, 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water, cinnamon, and lemon zest in a pot. Boil over medium heat. Remove from heat.

8. Preheat oven 288 degrees C (or the max temp your oven reaches) Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

9. Whisk flour, salt, and cold milk together very thoroughly in a cold pot. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until milk thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for at least 10 minutes.

10. Whisk egg yolks into the cooled milk. Add the sugar syrup and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Strain custard into a glass measuring cup.

11. Unwrap the dough and trim any uneven bits on the ends. Score log into 12 even pieces using a knife; cut through.

12. Place a piece of dough in each muffin cup. Dip your thumb lightly in some cold water. Press thumb into the center of the swirl; push dough against the bottom and up the sides of the cup until it reaches least 1/8 inch past the top. Fill each cup 3/4 of the way with custard.

13. Bake in the preheated oven until the pastry is browned and bubbly, and the tops start to blister and caramelize, about 12 minutes. Cool tarts briefly and serve warm.