Portugese Custard Tarts

I know, I know.
I have no excuses as to why I've been blogging so little lately. It's basically nothing to do with practical issues and everything to do with being lazy. Okay, and the fact that I don't bake as regularly anymore without hordes of guinea pigs school-friends to feed/that I've just been re-making old recipes, but......y'know.
So I bring to you, fashionably late, my first recipe post of 2013. By the way guys, happy new year! (Better late than never, no?)
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There was a show that aired on National Geographic when my brother and I were in primary school, by the name of Chasing Time. I doubt many know of its existence, its run seemed short-lived and its Wikipedia page bare; but it was awesome. More or less, a team of two would perform a certain number of challenges based in a certain city in the world, kinda like The Amazing Race, but... different. Anyway, one episode saw a team of two travelling to Lisbon, one of the challenges (somehow, I don't think eating these was a challenge at all) requiring them to find and eat some of Portugal's culinary claims to fame; custard tarts. 
The flaky pastry, creamy custard and the caramelised, browned tops were always a point of fascination to me and I vowed to never rest again until some of these were acquainted with my mouth. 
Whelp, it's been about ten years and no one's ever bought me a ticket to Lisbon. Yet somehow, I've managed plenty of rest in this life of mine. Go figure. 

It was only at the start of this year when, with a freezer full of un-used puff pastry and a fridge stocked with eggs, I decided to recreate these for myself. Okay, so making these at home after seeing the real deal on tv was kinda like settling on McDonald's after visions of The Fat Duck, but hey, one step at a time.

The recipe I used was from Not Quite Nigella, who in turn adapted it from Bill Granger. NQN herself stated that she uses regular milk as opposed to cream when she makes these; a welcome adjustment to me as I don't usually have cream in the fridge anyway. The custard came together quite easily although i did strain it as an extra measure -- lumps just freak me out, okay. Also, I don't know how but the custard only made enough for about six tarts for me, so next time I make it, I'll definitely be making a double batch of custard. Aand I'll probably only eat them fresh from the oven; I had one when they were cold and yeah, let's just not go there. 

Portugese Custard Tarts (Adapted from Not Quite Nigella)

• 2 egg yolks + 1 whole egg
• 115g caster sugar
• 2 tbs cornflour
• 250mL milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and grease a 12 hole muffin pan with some melted butter.
2. Whisk the eggs, sugar, cornflour and milk together in a medium saucepan until smooth.
3. Gradually whisk the mixture over medium heat until it thickens and no liquid remains in the pan.
4. Off the heat, whisk in the vanilla extract. Cover the bowl with a loose layer of cling wrap and allow to cool.
5. Meanwhile, cut the sheet of pastry in half and place one half on top of the other.
6. Roll the sheets into a tight coil (from the short ends) and using a sharp knife, divide into twelve equal parts. 
7.  Use a rolling pin to gently flatten each round until it is large enough to comfortably fit into a hole in the muffin pan.
8. Place pastry rounds inside the muffin pan and spoon two tablespoons (or enough to fill up each case almost to the top) of custard into each pastry case.
9. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the tops of the tarts have browned and the pastry is puffed and golden.
10. Allow to cool in muffin pan for five minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.