Kiwi Custard Pie

The story is, I had some kiwis lying around, that really needed tending to. Besides eating them straight, there are few things you can do with a kiwi, that are worthwhile. Putting them on a tart is probably the best one. Kiwis already have a "tart" flavour, so they make a great match. But rather than putting them on any tart, I decided to try them on a French style custard tart. And you're not married to the kiwis, either. This is the recipeless cook, so you can substitute many other types of fresh fruit here. This recipe is a bit more work than my usual fare, though for what it is, it's still relatively easy. I won't have you fuss with separating egg yolks from their whites; just throw everything in there. All told, it's (almost) every bit as good as those delicate little custard tarts you find in the French patisseries. Well, let's just say it's very reminiscent of that....

Ingredients

Pâte Brisée Pie (or tart) Shell

1 cup flour
6 T cold butter
1/8 tsp. salt
1 T (full rounded) plain sugar
1/4 cup ice cold water
1 egg, beaten

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F.  Put flour, salt and sugar into a food processor. Pulse very briefly a second or two to mix the ingredients. Add the egg, pulse briefly a couple of seconds to mix. Now take the butter out of the fridge, and scoop 6 tablespoons into the food processor (dropping them in separate areas of the processor bowl). Pulse briefly again, just until the mixture starts to clump up to one side of the processor bowl. Working quickly, empty the processor bowl into a pie plate, and press the dough around the bottom with the underside of your fingers, then work the dough up the sides of the pie plate, until it reaches the top. (Alternatively, you can use a metal tart shell if you have one). If you are not immediately ready to bake the pie shell, leave it in the fridge so that the butter does not melt. Otherwise, bake the shell for 20 minutes.

Custard Filling

2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. vanilla

Instructions

Fill a small pot halfway with water, and put it to boil. Meanwhile, pour the sugar, flour and salt in a small metal or heat resistant glass bowl, and stir well with a heavy spoon. Stir in a portion of the milk, and stir around in the centre, to incorporate the liquid, until you get a smooth thick cream like consistency. Repeat with another portion of milk, and again, until all the milk is incorporated. Lower the heat to medium-medium high, to bring the pot to a slow boil. Place the bowl with the milk mixture over the pot, and using a wire whisk, whisk the mixture, particularly at the bottom, to prevent the flour from clumping up.  Continue whisking constantly about 10 minutes, until well thickened. During the latter half of this, when it starts to get too thick, use a metal spoon instead to stir the mix. Remove from the heat when done.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. Take a couple of spoonfuls of the heat milk mixture and stir well into the beaten eggs. Then off the heat, scrape the egg mix into the bowl with milk mixture and stir well with the spoon. Return the mix over the pot of slowly boiling water and continue to stir over the heat, until the egg has set and the mixture well thickened. Remove from heat, stir in the butter and vanilla, and let cool a bit, then fill the pie shell with the custard.

Topping

Ingredients

3 kiwis

n.b. Your kiwis should be ripe, and not too difficult to peel. This ensures they'll have some sweetness). Peel and slice the kiwis and cover the surface of the custard pie in a spiral pattern, or otherwise. (Alternatively, use strawberries, blueberries or other berry fruit, mangos or peaches, or simply no fruit. It's also delicious as is!).

Serve at room temperature or, better, chill in refrigerator and serve.

n.b. You can also try making this in a muffin tin, as individual "tartelettes". Just remember to adjust the baking time for the crust.