It was Father’s Day again a few weekends ago and my father is always the easiest person to buy or bake for. To buy: it was a gift voucher at an arts and crafts store (he paints) and to eat no complicated cake, but rather a dozen of my finest home-made Portuguese Custard tarts please. These are the only things he will give up his strict low cholesterol regimen for.
Despite the distinctly tropical look to it, the plate is one I brought all the way back from Japan when I lived there. I adore the beautiful lines of Japanese pottery and shipped back as much as I could with me even giving up precious shoe space for some of it which shows you how much I loved the stuff. Sure it has a tiny chip in it from when it made the big journey across the ocean and seas but I adore it and have not been able to find a replacement for it anywhere.
I was sent some Carnation Soy cooking milk which is the soy version of evaporated milk but it does not separate as soy usually does when heated so I decided to give it a try on these. Everyone could tell that there was something quite different about these and perhaps I would save the Carnation Soy if I were making these tarts for someone who was dairy intolerant or on a low fat diet. If you’re not used to the regular Portuguese custard tart flavour then you may not notice such an obvious difference. However if you do want to a coconut version, just use the recipe as below using milk and cream.
And as for the judging of which I spoke in the title? Excitingly, I was asked to be part of the Carnation Soy Masterchef judging challenge where all of the magazines in a magazine house (News, Pacific and ACP) were asked to create a recipe using the Carnation Soy and two judges from Nestle and I were to judge the success of these dishes. Going to the magazine houses was always going to be an interesting occasion, especially to ACP who had threatened legal action on me very early on in my blog’s life. Nevertheless, curious about my first time food judging, I happily went along.
Valli Little from Delicious: soy and White Chocolate Pannacotta and chocolate soy ice cream
The first publishing house we visited was News Magazines and the magazines participating were Good Taste, Super Food Ideas and Delicious. Delicious editor Valli Little was there by herself in an effort to try and get the coveted prize – dinner for two at Quay for her husband’s birthday (surprisingly, she had never been there before!). Yes you can see why the magazines were motivated to enter. Valli’s soy milk and White Chocolate Pannacotta with chocolate soy ice cream and chocolate soil was tasted first. The pannacotta was very firm but the chocolate soy ice cream and chocolate soil were very good.
Good Taste’s Beef Stroganoff
The Good Taste Stroganoff smelt delicious and tasted great-the only thing was that Nestle felt that they didn’t use enough of the product in this which wasn’t so much a concern to me than the taste which I really enjoyed. The Super Food Ideas’ Creme Brulee was freshly torched in front of us and had chunks of halved or quartered strawberries in it. All three dishes were rather good and this was where there was much furious debate among judges but Valli pipped it at the post to win due to presentation.
Super Food Ideas’ Strawberry Creme Brulee
Practical Parenting’s vanilla andberry pannacotta and coconut cream pie
At Pacific, the magazines competing were Practical Parenting, Prevention and Women’s Health. They were all great but many used dairy to help the taste along so they tasted much better. As I mentioned Valli’s Pannacotta was very firm and she mentioned having issues with her pannacotta setting and having to use 4 gold gelatine leaves to set it which made it quite firm whereas Practical Parenting did a straight substitution for the soy milk and used powdered gelatine and there weren’t any problems with it setting to that wonderful pannacotta consistency. The Coconut Cream pie was also fantastic and the toasted coconut really helped mask the soy taste. In fact I liked it so much I wanted to get their recipe but the girl that made it went on holidays.
Prevention magazine’s chicken pesto pasta
Prevention Magazine’s Pear Clafoutis
Prevention Magazine were actually having their launch party that night so we applauded them making something given how busy they were. They made a clafoutis and a pasta. I enjoyed the pasta but the clafoutis has some rather large pieces of fruit in it which were a bit hard to eat and it wasn’t quite sweet enough.
Women’s Health Spinach Cannelloni
Women’s Health made a Cannelloni with a soy cream which was delicious-just like a lovely homemade cannelloni but there was much debate as there was actual cream used in both parts. The Practical Parenting people won due to the coconut tart and the fabulously wobbly pannacotta.
And the last house to be judged was ACP. At the briefing they had the biggest turnout with 24 people. Was I “meeting with the enemy?”. Would the legal threat be mentioned? I wasn’t sure what sort of situation I’d face as there are many from ACP that subscribe to NQN so it was all very unknown to me. The ones that turned up seemed friendly enough and we had Take 5, Australian House & Garden and BBC Australia Good Food show up with some dishes. Women’s Weekly also turned up but without a dish, rather a page from their magazine for a Pannacotta and the instructions to substitute the milk and cream for soy.
Australian House & Garden’s dark chocolate pudding
Take 5’s creamy smoked chicken and bacon fettuccine
The Take 5 creamy smoked chicken and bacon fettuccine was fantastic and they had made sure that it was dairy free, economical, low cost and delicious. Australian House & Garden made a dark chocolate pudding which was very smooth and reminiscent of Yogo. They also made sure to use other Nestle products like their cocoa and chocolate and was the favourite of the Nestle judge. However we both liked the chocolate and coconut cake from BBC Australia Good Food which was soft and with a fine crumb and best of all we couldn’t tell that it had soy used in it at all as it hadn’t affected the taste.
BBC Australia Good Food’s Chocolate & Coocnut Cake
Overall there were some really delicious entries and whilst the Nestle judges looked at it from a product point of view (i.e. how many units of Carnation Soy were used and whether they used other Nestle Products), I looked at it from the consumer point of view i.e. taste and specifically whether it had that telltale soy taste. Given the diverse results with the sweets, I think the best use of the product is savoury as a substitute for cream in pasta sauces especially with a pesto or the stroganoff. For sweets, it would do better alongside really strong flavoured ingredients like chocolate or coconut (or both) unless of course you don’t mind the soy taste which some don’t.
And the best part of participating with the judging? I too get to go to dinner at Quay! 
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever participated in a judging either as a judge or as a contestant and what was it for?
Oh and a darling friend of mine The Second Wife has just started a new travel blog called She Goes and there’s a little story on me! The picture is one MR NQN took of me on our honeymoon at Mana Island in Fiji.
Coconut Portuguese Custard Tarts
Servings: Makes 12
Level of difficulty: Intermediate
Preparation Time: 25 minutes, plus cooling time and 5 minutes standing
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 egg yolks and 1 whole egg
- 115g caster or palm sugar
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 400ml Milk (I used Soy Cooking milk just to see what it was like)
- a few drops of Coconut essence
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
Method
1. Lightly grease a 12-hole 80ml muffin tray.
Palm Sugar
Grating Palm Sugar
2. Put the eggs, sugar and cornflour in a pan and whisk together. If you are using Palm Sugar, grate it before you add it in. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth.
3. Place the pan over a medium heat and cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut essence. Transfer the custard to a bowl, cover the surface with cling film to prevent a skin forming and leave to cool.
4. Preheat the oven to 220C or 200C/400F fan forced.
5. Cut the pastry dough sheet in half, put one half on top of the other and set aside for 5 minutes. Roll up the pastry tightly from the short end and cut the pastry log into 12 x 1cm rounds. Lay each pastry round on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll out until each is 10cm in diameter.
6. Press the pastry rounds into the muffin tin. Spoon the cooled custard into the pastry cases and sprinkle soem shredded coconut on top and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry and custard are golden. Leave the tarts in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Adapted from recipe by Bill Granger
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37 Comments | Add your own
I had no idea ya’lls Father Day was now! I bet he loved this!
Perfect dish for a low cholesterol regimen…love the coconut version of the first recipe….
Beef Stroganoff is my favorite dish but you make crazy with all these desserts…with gorgeous presentations
Cheers!
Gera
I love your plate!
I completely agree with you about Japanese pottery, I always find myself in the Japan Centre in London searching for pretty plates.
The smoked chicken and bacon fettuccine looks interesting, will now have to make a similar pasta soon-ish!
I love your little tarts, they’re so adorable. I’ve never worked with (or even seen) palm sugar, so now I’m on a mission to find it and make these! By the way I love your plate!
Your little tarts look wonderful, and the soy cooking milk has gotta make them healthy, right? Congrats on your judging gig – the whole ACP faceoff thing would have been weird, but it sounds as though you handled it with aplomb.
Lucky you to judge the competition and try all the lovely foods. I’m going to Quay in October and am looking forward to it immensely!!
Lucky you. Actually lucky them to have you as a judge!
I like the look of the cake – the ring one. I am not a fan of soy though… so that’s probably why.
I am so mad at ACP for you. It’s freaking ridiculous. They need to move with the times. Do they know that you’re not making a motza here? You’re not profiting from their recipes.
Anyways… I am getting too cranky.
Have a lovely weekend Lorraine. Thanks for another lovely week in the food world. I feel well nourished and I didn’t even go anywhere. x
Those tarts look so yummy. I personally dont mind a soy taste- although I know plenty who distinctly dislike it. Sounds like the judging was a whole lot of fun. Sounds like the people from ACP have had to swallow a whole lot of humble pie. Good on you NQN!!
Wow, all the food looks amazing! I love the plate you brought back from Japan. I have a few Japanese dishes and I just love them!
Excellent tartlets! And I am dying to try that soy milk version. it’s a bit tough to bake without dairy sometimes..
This is too funny. Just Saturday night I did my first food judging, at an Arabian horse show. They have a progressive barn party and the barns cook. Who expected belly dancers and a greek theme (horse’s name Omega). I’ll be writing about it soon, but my camera died and I had to use iPhone.
You may like to put a little clear nail varnish (or maybe even green) on the chip on your plate. It will stop it from discolouring over time.
The tarts are really, really mouthwatering. No wonder your father wants them each year. It’d be hard to say no to them.
That plate is beautiful! What a treasure.
Hee hee Judge Lorraine
Did you do any table tapping and Matt Preston tributes?
Ohh I bet your tarts are just delicious! They certainly look like it!
I Love, love coconut, I don’t mind soy taste either, I think it adds something to a dish or baked good… as always the FOOD looks incredible.
OK, I absolutely adore Portugese egg custard tarts – I could eat 10 of them in one sitting! I love your addtition of coconut! That said, I cannot believe you had a lawsuit thrown at you! One freakin’ recipe from a whole cookbook or magazine? If anything, YOU’RE giving them publicity! Geesh! also, glad you enjoyed judging the Soy Milk challenge! That sounds like so much fun!
The custard tarts with coconut look delicious. Never tried something like this before.
I love those Portuguese tartlets! yours look delicious!
What yummy looking food.
Cheers and have a great weekend,
Rosa
I love your Portuguese Tarts!! I have made them a zillion times and it is always a winner! I have also tried making it with Gluten Free Puff Pastry called “Rough Puff” and this makes the shell crunchy and eatible for my GF sister and bestie!!
It is the simplest recipe ever and it is such a crowd pleaser!! I can’t wait to make this version!!
Your Portuguese tarts look great and funnily enough today I bought some from the local produce markets held every Friday in the Wollongong Mall! I’m not a fan of soy milk so I don’t think I’d like recipes adapted to it.
You lucky , lucky girl and MR NQN , fancy winning a dinner at Quay, what a great prize. Last time we were there was for Valentine’s day…..Magic!!
I’ve never judged anything but have been judged as I make Porcelain dolls and love reading the critiques so as to improve for the next effort. I’m proud to say that two of my dolls have scored 100% and were judged the Doll of Show! That’s enough of me ‘blowing my own trumpet’ LOL.
I would ask for those tarts for Father’s Day too if I were your dad!!
I missed out on the whole AWW hoo-hah, but have caught up on it now. How ridiculous – music blogs have a similar problem – the people in charge don’t seem to realize what a bad taste it leaves in people’s mouths, and the positive effect blogs have.
I had my suspicions that AWW were run by accountants and lawyers though, as I used to watch Geoff Jansz on the AWW cooking show, and he made a few little comments about it, and then ended up leaving.
Anyway, keep up the good work!
What an honour for you, my dear friend!!
Wow,… your coconut Portugese custard tarts look FABULOUS!! As you know, I use a lot of soy cream in the kitchen, but I like it’s taste because it doesn’t taste as soy usually does. I use it in all my cream sauces & it is healthier too!
Wow! Those tarts look sensational. An what a fun (though probably slightly nerve wracking outing). I’m a big fan of Delicious magazine and was glad that Valli Little did well
I’ve always liked Portuguese custard tarts and yours look so interesting.
Incidentally, there’s a product here in the Philippines – interestingly enough also under the Carnation brand – called coco-evap: evaporated coconut milk. I think I’ll try to make your tarts with this over the weekend.
Brilliant post as usual, enjoyed your thorough analysis of each of the dishes and how the substitution of the soy milk affected the flavour. Really looking forward to your post on Quay!
Your plate is beautiful – no wonder it displaced shoes. I must admit though that I like plates better than shoes anyway!
Mmm,such yummy looking tarts! I love everything with coconut!
You’ve raised the bar again with the Portuguese tarts – coconut would be so good (haha, pardon the pun!).
And lucky you for scoring a meal at Quay. The judging looked like a lot of fun and you will love Quay. Can’t wait to read all about it.
These tarts look delicious! Thanks for the great tip on rolling up the pastry into a log then cutting into rounds… sounds so much easier than rolling and cooking cutting which is what I do…
i’m CRAZY about coconut, so all the other glorious dishes here simply pale in comparison to those amazing tarts. i only have eyes for them.
Yummie, the Portuguese tarts look just amazing…I never had with coconuts
How fun to be a judge! I haven’t had the opportunity. Your tarts look scrumptious!
Lorraine, the girl who made the pannacotta from Practical Parenting comes back from hols this Tuesday if you want to pick her brain for the recipe
LOL at women’s weekly. LAme! It’s cool to see all the different things they came up with… and lucky you, getting to go to Quay as well
Hi Blond Duck-Yes we have it a different day and month to you guys!
Hi Gera-Thankyou so much! Hehe you are too sweet!
Hi Su-yin-Thanks so much! Yes it’s amazing stuff isn’t it! It was really delicious I have to say
Hi Faith-Why thankyou!
It’s one of those funny things that you have to grate. Thanks! I hope that’s the first and last chip! 
Hi Cakelaw-Thankyou
Yes I think it makes it healthy 
Thanks, it was an interesting situation!
Hi Anita-Oh fantastic! I can’t wait to hear all about it. Our booking isn’t until after then!
Hi fat mumslim-Hehe aww you are too sweet! Luckily the cake didn’t taste of soy at all
Thankyou! Yes the way they acted was outrageous and bizarre and they clearly showed they didn’t get the whole internet space thing 
Thankyou so much! 
x
Hi sandra-Yes it’s funny how some don’t mind it but some do (I admit I don’t like it much). Haha thankyou so much!
Hi Palidor-Thankyou! I’m so glad I bought it. They’re gorgeous and so unique!
Hi Anh-Thankyou! Yes it’s very hard! Hope you like them
Hi Angela-Haha how funny is that! Can’t wait to read all about it!
Hi Ani-Excellent, thanks so much for the tip!
Hi The Duo Dishes-Thankyou! Hehe he’s so easy to cook for!
Hi Vivian-Thankyou so much!
Hi Ffichiban-Yup like Judge Judy but for food. Watch out!
Hi Julie-Thankyou so much!
And you’re the pie queen too!
Hi April Marie-Thankyou so much, you are too kind!
Hi Lisa-They’re freakishly moreish aren’t they
I know, they’re quite ridiculous the way they carried on. Considering the interweb is full of their recipes and I was only helping with sales of the book and promoting it. Thankyou! 
Hi The Purple Foodie-Thankyou so much!
Hi Rosa-Thanks so much and you too!
Hi Ms Cupcake-Thankyou! Oh that’s great that there’s a gluten free pastry version!
Imagine having to miss out!
Hi Matilda-Thanks so much! Yes I think for this, it would be best with regular milk and cream
Oh that’s the night you want to go to Quay isn’t it! 
I didn’t know that, well I bet you make gorgeous ones and Doll of the Show has got to be the coolest award doesn’t it! 
Hi arista-Hehe!
Yes when lawyers have no experience of the real world that’s a dangerous thing! Aha interesting about Geoff Jansz! I’d love to know more about that! Thankyou 
Hi Sophie-Thanks so much!
Yes I’ve seen you use it in a few things, I wonder how the taste compares! 
Hi shaz-Thankyou! Hehe I think she scored points with the Nestle judges as she wrote out “Soy” in cocoa!
Hi Midge-Thanks so much
Ooh that sounds interesting, is it like coconut cream?
Hi Moya-Thankyou so much! It’s amazing how it worked well for some dishes but not as well for others
I can’t wait to eat there!
Hi Arwen-Thankyou! Hehe yes it had to be pretty to displace shoes.
Hi yaelian-Thankyou so much! And it’s healthy too so you might like that
Hi Belle-Aww thankyou!
I remember seeing your post on it and those sea pearls-wow!
Hi Elaine-Thanks so much! Yes it’s much easier that way
I hope you like them!
Hi grace-Haha I didn’t know that!
I knew all about your cinnamon love though!
Hi Juliana-Thankyou! It was a nice alternative I thought
Hi Barbara-It was fun! Maybe one day? I’d love to do it again. Thankyou so much
Hi Illegallyblonde-Ahh cool. Do you know her?
Hi Betty-I know! Isn’t it! Thankyou so much. I cannot wait!
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