TWD: Toasted-Coconut Custard Tart

This week Beryl of Cinemon Girl  picked Toasted-Coconut Custard Tart. I almost skipped this week since  I had my recipes out of order and hadn't even started on this tart when I sat down to write this post. I'm not much of a coconut fan and neither is Mr. Mimi. However, two of our children love coconut, so I quickly put together this tart for them. There are times I hear them bantering back and forth about how special they are because mom made something just for them.

This is a fairly easy recipe to whip up. The crust is Dorie's stand by press in crust, filled with a thick rum and coconut flavored pastry cream and topped with sweetened whipped cream. It was very creamy and rich with a slight crunch on top from a sprinkle of toasted coconut, and the buttery crust on the bottom was a nice base for the smooth filling. I chose to 1/2 the recipe and it made three mini tarts, one each for my coconut lovers, and one to taste for the rest of us. Although us non-coconut lovers ate just our mandatory taste-test bite, Boy Mimi was licking his plate and "offering" to finish off the rest of these little tarts.

Toasted Coconut Custard Tart
adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours

For the Custard
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
6 large egg yolks
1/3 cup cornstarch
pinch of salt
pinch or coriander
1 tbsp Malibu rum
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut, toasted
1 9-inch sweet tart shell, baked and cooled

For the topping
1 cup cold heavy cream
3 tbsp powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp Malibu rum
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Bring milk to a boil. In a large saucepan, whisk together sugar, yolks, cornstarch, salt and coriander until well blended. Whisk in 1/4 cup of hot milk to temper the yolks, then whisk in the rest of the milk. Continue whisking over medium heat and bring to a boil. Whisk an additional 1 or 2 minutes then remove from heat. Whisk in rum and vanilla and let sit for 5 minutes. Then whisk in the butter, stirring until custard is smooth. Stir in the toasted coconut. Transfer to a container, cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.

To make the topping, use a stand mixture with whisk attachment or a hand mixer to whip the cream to medium peaks. Add the powdered sugar and beat to firm peaks. Whip in rum and vanilla.

To assemble the tart, whisk the custard vigorously to loosen it then scrape into the crust. Spoon the whipped cream over the tart and spread evenly to the edge of the custard. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.
printable recipe

This really was a good tart, I just don't like the stringy coconut in my creamy filling.  Next time I would use coconut milk to make the pastry cream and only put the toasted coconut on the top of the tart.  If you want the recipe for this tart visit Beryl at Cinemon Girl or you can find it in Dorie's book. Visit the TWD  blogroll to see what the other bakers made this week.