Can You Freeze Custard Tarts? Steps for Freezing Custard Tart
Dishes like puff pastry and tarts taste amazing especially on festive nights in December. So, if you are planning on preparing some recipes using homemade tarts and custard then this blog might help you. We discuss everything from recipes to the exact steps on how to freeze custard tarts at home.
Keep reading till the end to get detailed information on every doubt that you may have about your custard tart. A good custard recipe will leave you and your guests craving for more. However, there are some tricks that you must be aware of while you freeze tarts.
They usually don’t freeze well in the freezer but we have a few tips for you that will work for you. Since custard is a milk and egg yolk mixture, it is difficult to freeze these two ingredients together. The water content in milk tends to freeze into solid ice crystals and leads to a bad grainy texture.
We have prepared an easy way to freeze custard tarts that you can use in your daily life.
Recipe to Prepare Custard Tart
If you are a fan of egg tarts then you might want to try this egg custard tart recipe as well. Freezing homemade custard tarts is easy. But before we dig into that let’s get started with our custard tart recipe!
Here’s a list of ingredients you will need for this custard recipe:
- Butter
- Flour
- Lemon zest
- Sugar
- Milk
- Eggs
- Whipping cream
- Vanilla essence
- Nutmeg powder
- Egg yolks
Once you grab hold of all the ingredients for the recipe, you can start by following these steps. The recipe to prepare tarts works in three steps- first you should prepare pastry and tart, followed by preparing custard, and then serve them together on the platter.
To prepare the pastry for the tart, start by making a mixture of flour, butter, and lemon zest. To this mix, you can add milk, eggs, and sugar and form a dough from it. Then, take any pie crust liner and spread your rolled pastry sheet onto it. Bake your pastry in the oven till it gets crisp.
Now to prepare the custard, you can start by mixing milk, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest. Boil this mixture for a few minutes and in the meantime, you can beat eggs for custard. Add the hot milk mixture to the egg yolk mix and keep stirring. Allow the custard to cool for a few minutes and then pour it over your pastry.
A time limit of 40 minutes is long enough for baking the perfect custard tarts at home.
Steps to Freeze Custard Tarts
You can freeze custard tarts if you follow these tips in the proper sequence. The reason we are saying this is that you must understand that custard tarts do not freeze well. Therefore, there is a high possibility that it will get destroyed in the freezer without proper protection.
To freeze a custard tart that you made in your kitchen, firstly, allow it to cool down completely. So, if you are planning ahead of the festivals and want your desserts to be ready on the day. Then, you can opt for this method.
After your tarts cool down completely, you can put them in suitable airtight containers. Make sure the tarts aren’t touching each other when you are stuffing them together. Leave a gap of 1-2 cm between each piece so that they freeze well.
Then, close the lid of the box and drop it in the freezer. If you doubt that air might seep into the container. Then it is better to wrap the box in plastic wrap before closing the lid. It prevents any air to get into the box.
Now, pop the box back into the freezer, and you are done here. The freezing procedure doesn’t require much effort and you can do it quickly.
Can You Freeze Custard Cream?
You can freeze custard cream in clean airtight boxes like ice cream. Pour custard cream into the container and wrap it tightly with a cling film for protection from the air. Then, close the lid of the box and shift it to the freezer. Now you can use this cream within a month for other recipes.
Can You Freeze Custard Tarts in the Fridge?
Tarts freeze well only if you place them in the freezer in proper containers. However, if you directly store them in the fridge then they will last for 3 days to the max. After 3 days, they will go bad and you won’t be able to gain their original texture or flavor.
What Happens to Custard Tarts on Freezing?
Custard-based things do not freeze well because they have a mixture of milk and yolks in them. These two ingredients don’t go well and lead to the destruction of the texture of the recipe. Therefore, when you freeze tarts you will notice that the texture turns grainy and mushy from within.
Prolonged freezing leads to the destruction of the tart and isn’t fit for consumption. Since freezing custard recipes is difficult you must not refreeze them as well. Refreezing custard recipes is not something we would recommend to you.
How long do Custard Tarts Freeze?
We do not recommend freezing custard for much longer durations. It is because they tend to deteriorate swiftly in the freezer. Therefore, you can freeze them for only a few weeks and a month at the most.
Once you freeze them for more than a month, you will be left with a grainy mess that is not suitable for eating. Therefore, whenever you prepare tarts at home, you must remember that they do not perform well in the freezer. Thus, prepare in amounts that you can eat within a month.
How to Thaw Frozen Custard?
Custard tarts do not freeze well and thawing them is particularly difficult. There’s a high chance that you might either end up heating them too much or not thawing them enough. The best way to thaw frozen custard tarts is to thaw them overnight in the fridge.
Do not hurry the thawing process or else you will destroy their taste as well. Simply, remove the custard from the freezer and leave it in the fridge overnight. Next day, you can warm it up in the oven for some time and serve it with a cup of hot milk and cookies.
Suggestions for Freezing Custard Tarts
Here are our last few suggestions for you before you freeze your custard dish. First of all, if at all possible, refrain from freezing custard tarts. Frozen tarts tend to have major changes in their texture and it is evident when you eat them.
Thus, you can freeze them if you have prepared them in excess batches but if you have a small portion then abstain from freezing. When you wish to eat frozen custard tart, you must warm it up in the microwave oven for a few minutes so that any changes in texture get masked under the warmth.
Lastly, do not forget that custard tarts can get crushed in your freezer if you don’t place them properly. Thus, to protect these delicate babies you must place them in tough containers that don’t squeeze in.
Conclusion
Your search for can I freeze custard tarts ends here. Any tart will taste best when it is warm and freshly baked. But, don’t worry if you have made a separate batch for a special day. Just follow these steps when you freeze custard tarts to get the best results.