Chelsea tart with milk ice cream and pastry crumble

  • medium
  • 14
  • 5 hours (1 large tart)
Not yet rated

This stunning custard tart is an excellent example of how whey, an often discarded by-product, can be turned into something delicious whilst also reducing waste. If you don't have any whey to prevent from being wasted, why not try making your own using our guide here?

First published in 2022

Will Murray and Jack Croft say 'This quickly became one of our signature desserts, it’s a reduction of cheese whey which takes us 3 days and is such an amazing under used waste product. We then add this to a caramel custard base and bake it low and slow for a creamy smooth texture and we serve it with milk ice cream.'

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Milk ice cream

Caramelised whey

  • 1kg cheese whey
  • 20ml of whipping cream

Tart pastry

  • 300g of unsalted butter, diced and softened
  • 40g of caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3ml of whole milk
  • 429g of T55 flour, (Type 0 Flour)

Caramelised whey custard

  • 600g of double cream
  • 162g of egg yolk
  • 210g of caster sugar
  • 30g of muscovado sugar
  • 97.5g of reduced whey
  • 7.5g of Maldon salt

Whey caramel

  • 75g of malt extract
  • 75g of golden syrup
  • 15g of reduced whey

To serve

Equipment

  • Thermometer
  • 25cm loose bottom tart tin
  • Ice cream maker
  • Muslin cloth
  • Squeezy bottle

Method

1

To make the ice-cream, place the milk, cream, milk powder, salt and glucose in a medium pan. Place on a medium heat and stir constantly with a maurice until it reaches 52°C, then remove from the heat

  • 400g of whole milk
  • 10g of whipping cream
  • 30g of skimmed milk powder
  • 6g of glucose
  • 0.02g of table salt
2

When the milk has reached 52°C, in a separate bowl, whisk the caster sugar and the egg yolk together. Add a small amount of the warmed milk to the egg yolk and sugars to temper the mix, whisk until combined. Pour the yolks and sugars into the milk and place back over the heat. Continuously stir until you reach 70ºC, then take off the heat and leave for 10 minutes before chilling

3

When the ice cream has cooled, pass 1/3 of the ice cream through a chinois into a large container. Add the yogurt to the passed ice cream and blitz with the hand blender until it's fully incorporated. Then pass the rest of the ice cream through the chinois into the container with the yogurt and whisk again. Place in the freezer then churn

4

For the caramelised whey, start by bringing the whey to boil in a saucepan then turn down to a simmer. Solids will continually form in the whey, so you will need to pass through muslin 3 or 4 times during the reduction to prevent the solids from catching on the pan and burning

  • 1kg cheese whey
5

Once the whey has reduced to ¾ of its original volume add 6ml of whipping cream. The mixture will start to caramelise and turn a golden brown colour as it reduces. Continue to reduce until you achieve a thick, shiny, toffee-like consistency. Leave to cool and then store in the fridge

  • 6ml of whipping cream
6

To make the pastry, put the butter, sugar and milk in a food mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix on speed 1 until combined then scrape down the sides and add the eggs, making sure they are fully incorporated. Gradually add the flour and mix until semi-incorporated. Tip out and bring together into a disc shape, then wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for 2 hours

  • 300g of unsalted butter, diced and softened
  • 40g of caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3ml of whole milk
  • 429g of T55 flour, (Type 0 Flour)
7

Remove the pastry from the fridge. Place between two layers of parchment paper and roll to 5mm thick, making sure that the sheets are large enough to cover a tart mould with an overhang. Lightly grease the inside of a tart mould with the spray oil (or butter), then place a small square of parchment paper on the base. Line the tart mould, making sure even and tight against all the grooves, then place in the fridge to rest for another hour

8

To blind bake, preheat the oven to 155°C/gas mark 3. Remove the lined tin from the fridge, trim off the extra pastry and reserve. Layer three sheets of cling film together and line the tart pastry with it. Fill the mould with rice to the brim (or baking beans) then fold the cling film over the rice (or beans). Place the pastry trimming on a separate tray. Place both the trimming and tart case in the preheated oven and bake for 60 minutes, you are looking for a light golden colouring all over

9

Once golden, blitz the trimming up into a crumble and set aside to cool

10

To make the custard, bring the cream to a boil. Place the egg yolks, 60g of the caster sugar, the muscovado sugar and the reduced whey into a large bowl and lightly whisk. Once the cream has come to the boil, pour over the egg mixture and stir well

  • 600g of double cream
  • 162g of egg yolk
  • 210g of caster sugar
  • 30g of muscovado sugar
  • 97.5g of reduced whey
11

Place 300ml of water in a pan over a medium heat and sprinkle in the remaining 150g of caster sugar whilst continually moving the pan. Heat the sugar to 180°C (do not stir with a utensil as the sugar will stick) Add the salt. Blitz the cream mixture using a hand blender and slowly drizzle in the hot sugar down the side of the bowl as you blend

12

Preheat the oven to 95ºC/gas mark 1/4. Place the blind-baked tart tin on a tray and place in the oven with the shelf half out. Pour the custard mixture into the tart case carefully right to the top then bake for 90 minutes (look for a soft set but with no ripple)

13

Leave at room temperature to cool for an hour, then store in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours before slicing

14

To make the whey caramel, place the ingredients in a pan and stir vigorously to combine. Place over a heat and reduce for 10 minutes, whilst continuously stirring, it should result in a deep brown colour. Leave to cool then transfer to a squeezy bottle

  • 75g of malt extract
  • 75g of golden syrup
  • 15g of reduced whey
15

To plate, dip a knife into a jug of hot water and slice the tart (this will get you a clean, glossy cut). Place onto a plate, add a little pile of the crumble to one side and top with the ice cream. Drizzle the whey caramel neatly across the ice cream, then finish with a small pinch of Maldon salt sprinkled over the tart

First published in 2022

Jack Croft and Will Murray struck up a friendship while working at Dinner by Heston and in 2019 launched their own restaurant concept called Fallow. Together they now cook some of London’s most exciting, sustainability-focused food.

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