Super smooth vegan eggnog custard tart. Crisp, buttery pastry meets spiced, rum spiked custard!
Eggnog may not be a thing where you're from, but this vegan eggnog custard tart is GOING to be a pretty DAMN BIG THING! That's right - let's all pretend for like four minutes that eggnog isn't the weirdest name for anything ever and acknowledge that, when you look at its constituent parts, eggnog gives me life:
eggs(gross, it's 2020)- PLANT milk (Creamy. Unusual. Living)
- PLANT cream (Even creamier = even dreamier)
- Sugar (Oh did you think this was healthy-vegan-haven.com?)
- Spices (Move over PSL, basic)
- Rum (Aye aye captain)
If you're on board with the MF dream team, keep reading. Things are gonna get VERY CUTE.
WHAT IN HECK'S NAME IS A VEGAN EGGNOG CUSTARD TART!?
Think of it like this - eggnog is basically an excuse to pour booze in custard and drink it (sign me up). But INSTEAD of drinking it, what if we made that custard extra thick, poured it into a buttery crumbly shortcrust tart case and then ATE it instead of DRINKING IT??
Are you on board? I think THE HECK you are! This recipe was inspired by the WONDERFUL WORKS of Mr Edd Kimber (aka @theboywhobakes) who did a similar thing and deserves all the credit - go on, just go follow him instead.
Just kidding because actually my recipe is very different! Other than the pastry case, this tart is no-bake. And obvs it's PLANT BASED AF.
BUT THIS SOUNDS TRICKY TO MAKE??!
Look. Listen. Some people like to spend 24 hours a day in the kitchen cooking. Other people have jobs to go to. Britney loves all people equally regardless, so don't worry about it. This recipe is already super easy to begin with - there's no baking involved for the custard filling, the ingredients are super easy to get hold of etc etc, but here are some cheats to make this recipe even easier:
USE A PRE-BAKED VEGAN TART CASE - What, you're too good for baking? No problemo! Just get a robot to bake it for you! There are LOADS of brands of vegan pre-baked tart cases out there. Skip the first bit of the recipe and you're done!
USE PRE-ROLLED SHORTCRUST - Most pre-rolled shortcrust pastry is plant-based, unless it mentions butter. Grab a vegan one, unroll it and then bake as instructed in the recipe! Easy!
How do I MAKE a vegan eggnog custard tart??
Easy peasy! The full recipe is at the bottom of this page BUT don't just scroll right down there! Read these extra tips for a PERFECT tart.
Start With the Pastry, Baby!
If you're making the pastry for this recipe, then GOOD FOR YOU! You go Glenn Koko! My tips are to keep everything as cold as possible. If the butter melts or if you add too much warm water, you'll activate the gluten in the flour. We're not making bread, we're making pastry - which should be crisp and crumbly, not doughy!
I like to put my vegan butter in the freezer for half an hour once it's sliced into cubes. Oh and be sure to use a firm block-style vegan butter. Not a soft, spreadable margarine. I use "vegan block" or Naturli. If you're in the states, Miyokos Creamery works perfectly too! Once the pastry is formed, chill it!
Vegan butter and flour 
Blitzed to breadcrumb texture 
Shortcrust dough
Infuse that Custard!
Most of the eggnog flavour in this recipe comes from INFUUUUSING those spices. I'm talking a good HOUR long infusion - longer, if you've got it. We're going to blend together our custard base recipes and then heat them to the point where they're JUUST about to start simmering. It'll get steamy, but don't let it get bubbly! Turn off the heat before this happens!
Crack in some cinnamon sticks, cover with a lid and leave to sit. The residual heat in the custard is enough to draw out all those flavours from the spices.
The custard base 
Infusing the custard
Prepare the Pastry Case!
Now we've got a gorgina, chilled, sexy lump of pastry dough, it's time to start our pastry case. I use a 20cm fluted tart tin. You should too, because that's how recipes work. Roll out ¾ of your pastry on a floured work surface, reserving the other ¼. Make sure it's much bigger than your tart tin - it needs to go right up the sides and overlap the edge slightly.
Once rolled out, lift the pastry carefully (I do that drapey over the rolling pin thing) and lay it over the tart tin. You then want to carefully push the pastry into the corners of the tin. I use a spare piece of pastry to do this as it's soft and won't rip through the pastry case. All done? GOOD! Pop it in the fridge to chill again.
Make Some Pastry Decorations!
With the remaining pastry quarter, make some decorations for the top of your tart! I like to roll my pastry out to about ¼ cm thick and stamp out holly leaves and berries. Ooooh pagan! Love it!
Bake the Pastry!
It's chilled again - great! Get a knife and cut off the excess pastry rough the edges of the pastry case. Make sure you leave a little overlap to help stop the pastry from slipping down the inside of the tin. Line the pastry case with parchment and fill with pie beads. Don't have pie beads? Don't fret! You can use dry, uncooked rice instead.
Whack it in the oven at around 170c for about 15 minutes. You'll want to give it an extra 5 mins after this, but make sure you remove the pie beads first - remember, they're hot!
When the case is baked, pop your little decorations in too and bake until golden brown!
Make the Custard!
It's easier than it sounds! All you're going to do is sieve out the cinnamon sticks, whisk together some corn starch, tapioca starch, plant milk and rum then whisk them into the infused custard base.
We're then going to heat up the custard while whisking vigorously until the starches cook and thicken the custard DRAMATICALLY! You might be tempted to say "aah, all done!" but PLEASE test your custard before you turn off the heat. It should be thick and smooth but also it shouldn't have a floury, powdery mouthfeel to it - so TASTE it and check! If it's still rather powdery, put it back on a low heat and keep whisking!
Fill the Tart Case!
Almost done! I promise! Pour that warm, thick custard into the tart case and level it off with your spatula. Sprinkle with cinnamon and then top with your gorgeous little baked decorations! STUN-NING!
And then you eat it!!
What a better dessert for a cold wintery night! I'm feeling festive ALL OVER my body just THINKING ABOUT IT! Tingle tingle tingle!
If you make this recipe and you think it's the-bomb.com, take a pic and pop it on the insta and tag @schoolnightvegan. Check my instagram for more recipes and GORGEOUS captions.
Need more festive vegan recipes??
Then you came to the right place! Why not give these bad boys a try!?
Perfect Vegan Gravy
Vegan Eggnog Custard Tart
Equipment
- High Speed Blender
Ingredients
For the Shortcrust Pastry Case
- 125 g very cold vegan butter ((use the firm block variety sometimes called "baking block" rather than margarine. Miyokos Creamery or Naturli work best))
- 260 g plain white flour
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2-3 tablespoon ice cold water
For the Eggnog Custard
- 349 g silken tofu ((this is one full pack))
- 230 ml coconut milk ((make sure it's full fat))
- 100 g caster sugar
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg ((freshly ground))
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 50 g corn starch ((aka corn flour))
- ½ tablespoon tapioca starch
- 3 tablespoon plant milk
- 70 ml spiced rum
Instructions
To Make the Shortcrust Pastry Case
- Cut the vegan butter into cubes. Place the flour and salt into a food processor. Add the butter. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs and the butter is evenly distributed.
- Turn the food processor onto its lowest speed and add the water one tablespoon at a time until the mixture just comes together. You may not need to add all the water.
- Remove the dough, shape into a rough, flat circle, wrap tightly and place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Lightly flour a clean surface and remove the chilled dough from the fridge. Remove and reserve ¼ of the dough. Form the remaining ¾ of the dough into a rough circle again and roll out to around 1.5 inches larger than the diameter of your tart tin.
- Carefully lift the pastry with your rolling pin and drape over a 20cm tart tin. Gently push the dough into the corners, and trim off the excess, leaving around a 1cm overhang around the edge of the tart tin. Set aside.
- Roll out the remaining ¼ of the pastry on a floured surface until it's around ¼ cm thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out holly leaves, stars or any other decorative shape. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and place both the decorations and the tart in the fridge to chill for the remainder of the 20 mins chilling time.
- After the tart has chilled, place it on a baking sheet and line the inside gently with baking parchment. Fill the parchment with baking beads or dry, uncooked rice. Place in the preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes before removing the baking beads by lifting the corners of the parchment and returning the case to the oven for a further 5 minutes. Don't allow the case to brown too much.
- Remove the case from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool - do not remove the case from the tin just yet.
- Once the tart case is baked, remove the shortcrust decorations from the oven. Prick them gently with a fork, brush them with plant milk and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar (optional). Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
To Make the Eggnog Custard
- Place the silken tofu, coconut milk, caster sugar and nutmeg in the cup of a high-speed blender. Blend until very smooth. If you can detect any lumps, blend again until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a medium saucepan. Place the saucepan over a low heat and bring close to a simmer - It will steam but do not let the mixture bubble.
- Once at temperature, remove from the heat and snap the two cinnamon sticks into the saucepan. Add the vanilla extract, stir, cover and leave to infuse for an hour.
- While the custard infuses, mix together the starches, plant milk and spiced rum in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Once the custard is infused, remove the lid and whisk well. Sieve out the cinnamon sticks. Add the starch/plant milk/rum mixture and whisk again until fully combined. Place back over a low heat.
- Whisking constantly and vigorously, slowly heat the custard until it is very thick and smooth. Taste a small amount. If you can detect a slight powdery mouthfeel then the custard needs to be cooked for longer. The finished custard should taste silky smooth.
- Once cooked, remove the custard from the heat. Whisk one last time to ensure it's completely smooth and pour into the cooled pastry case. Smooth the surface with a silicone spatula and decorate with the shortcrust holly leaves and berries.
- Place the tart in the fridge to cool for a minimum of 3 hours. When ready to slice and serve, sprinkle with ground cinnamon.
