Brûléed carrot pie

Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.

Lightly flour a clean work surface and roll out the shortcrust pastry slightly. Place the pastry in a 22cm tart tin. Using your thumb, press the pastry into the edges of the tin, leaving a 2cm pastry overhang. Using a fork, pierce a few holes in the pastry. Line the pastry with baking paper and baking beads or beans. Place in the oven for approx. 15-20 minutes, or until blonde. Remove the beans and baking paper and bake for a further 2-5 minutes. Remove the tart tin from the oven.

Finely grate the carrots. Place in a cheesecloth and squeeze out any excess liquid. Heat 2 tablespoons of the ghee in a small pot over a medium heat. Add in the grated carrot and cook for approx. 5 minutes or until softened. Once all the moisture has cooked out, lower the heat and add the cardamom and ginger along with the condensed milk. Stir to combine. Cover and continue cooking over a low heat for 10 minutes until it has thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and 65g caster sugar. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the corn flour with 3 tablespoons of the milk to make a slurry. Place a pot over a medium heat. Add the remaining milk and heat until warm to the touch. Slowly whisk a small amount of the hot milk into the yolk mixture, stirring constantly to bring it to temperature. Repeat this until you have added all the milk in small amounts. Then add the corn flour slurry. Pour the mixture back into the pot and cook over a low heat until thickened, approx. 4-6 minutes. Be sure to stir constantly to prevent it from catching and burning. Once it has thickened, remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Set aside.

Pour the carrot filling into the tart shell, making sure it’s evenly spread. Add the custard over the carrot filling – you may have some extra custard that can be served with the tart. Bake the tart for approx. 20-30 minutes or until the custard has set but is still wobbly in the centre. Once cooked, allow to cool at room temperature then refrigerate for at least 2 hours to set.

Once completely set, sprinkle over 50g caster sugar in an even layer. Using a blowtorch, brûlée the top until it is golden-brown colour.

Serve the tart cold with leftover custard on top.