1)Put the full-fat milk (600ml) into a saucepan and heat gently until the milk is warm but not boiling.

2)While the milk is warming, separate 8 eggs. Put the yolks into a large bowl, add the caster sugar (60g) and mix until thoroughly combined.

3)Add the plain flour (60g) and vanilla extract (1 tbsp) and mix again until combined.

4)Once the milk is warm, remove it from the heat and gradually add it into the egg mixture a bit at a time. Ensure that each addition is fully combined before adding more.

5)Pour the mixture into a saucepan and heat very gently until the custard has thickened. You need to whisk the mixture constantly to ensure that it doesn’t burn or go lumpy. You want the custard to thick enough so that as you move your whisk it should leave a clear trail that doesn’t immediately disappear.

6)Once the custard has thickened, remove it from the heat and pour it into a bowl or jug. Cover it with clingfilm so that the clingfilm is in full contact with the surface of the custard. This will stop a skin from forming.

7)Put the custard into the fridge to chill for a couple of hours while you make you pastry.

1)Cut the butter (125g) into cubes

2)Sift the flour (275g) into a large bowl. Add the caster sugar (40g) and butter and rub the ingredients together with your fingers until it has the consistency of breadcrumbs.

3)Add one egg and mix the ingredients with your hands until they come together.

4)Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and chill for half an hour in the fridge.

1)Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan.

2)Lightly grease the tins with vegetable oil (or other falvourless oil).

3)Remove your pastry from the fridge and roll it out until it’s very thin. I find this easier to do by rolling out only enough for one tart at a time and rolling the pastry between two sheets of clingfilm.

4)Carefully put the pastry into the tins and very gently press it into the corners. Don’t worry if you accidentally make a small hole, you’ll be making holes to allow air to escape in a minute anyway and if the hole is a bit bigger then you can always use a bit of spare pastry to patch it up.

5)Trim off any spare pastry that’s hanging over the sides of the tin by either trimming it with a sharp knife or running your rolling pin across the top.

6)Using a fork, make several holes in the bottom AND sides of your tarts. It’s important that the holes go all the way through the pastry to allow air to escape otherwise your pastry will puff up at the bottom and shrink at the sides.

7)Put the tins into the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes until just golden.

8)Once they’re cooked, remove them from the oven and allow to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes, then remove them from the tins and put them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Build the tarts

1)Evenly share the custard you prepared earlier between each of the tarts and then top with your fruit.

2)Finish them off with a sprinkle of icing sugar and serve.

Photo credit: http://charlotteslivelykitchen.com/summer-berry-and-custard-tarts/