Maple Sea Salt Latte Custard Tart

4.25 from 4 votes

Maple Sea Salt Latte Custard Tart

A thin graham cracker crust, filled with a soft and cream maple latte custard topped with a little flaky sea salt, this Maple Sea Salt Latte Custard Tart is like a maple latte in custard tart form.

Prep Time1

Cook Time50

Chilling6

Total Time7 50

Course: Afternoon Kaffee, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: custard, espresso, graham cracker, Maple sea salt, maple syrup, tart

Servings:

Calories: 355kcal

Equipment

9" - 2" Deep Removable Tart Pan

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

220 grams graham crackers
50 grams salted butter melted
50 grams granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Maple Latte Custard

170 grams maple syrup
445 grams heavy cream
250 grams whole milk
6 egg yolks standard large
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
50 grams espresso
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 teaspoon flakey sea salt for topping

Instructions

Graham Cracker Crust

Preheat the oven to 350 F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
Blend the graham crackers in a blender until they become a fine powder, similar to flour. You really want the graham crackers to be fine. If they are too coarse, the crust will be too porous causing the custard to soak into it.
In a medium bowl stir together the melted butter, sugar, salt and vanilla. Pour in the ground up graham crackers and use a fork to mix everything together.
If it's too dry add a little more butter but be careful not to make it too wet. It should still seem crumbly.
Pour the mixture into the tart pan. Press most the crust into the sides of the pan first and then the rest across the bottom with your fingers. Use your thumb or your pointer finger to really press it into the bottom corner so that you don't get a super thick pastry corner. Make sure the crust is reaching at least 1.5" up the side of the tart pan.
Place the tart in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Once chilled, place the tart on a baking sheet and bake in the already hot oven at 350 F for 15 minutes.
Set the tart shell a side to cool down.

Maple Latte Custard

Turn the oven to 265 F.
In a medium pot, whisk together the whole milk, heavy cream, and maple syrup. Place over medium heat until it starts to steam.
While the milk is heating, separate the 6 eggs. Place 6 egg yolks in a medium heat safe bowl along with the salt and whisk until smooth.
Place the bowl with the egg yolk mixture on a damp rag to prevent it from spinning.
Once the milk is steaming, remove it from the heat and slowly stream it into the egg yolk mixture while constantly whisking the egg yolks.
Continue to pour and whisk until all of the milk has been added in.
Then pour the custard mixture back into the pot.
Place the pot back on the stove and heat over low heat.
Switch to using a rubber spatula to stir the custard in a figure 8 pattern, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pot as you stir.
Once it starts to feel thick, and the little bubbles have mostly disappeared from the surface. The custard should reach at least 145-150 F but up to 170 F before taking it off the heat.
Pour the custard through a fine mesh the sieve into the same bowl and add in the espresso and vanilla, and whisk to combine.

Bake

Place the par baked shell onto a baking tray and place it on the oven rack, pull the oven rack out half way.
Pour the cooked custard into the tart shell and carefully push the rack into the oven.
Bake for 50 minutes. It's still going to look very wobbly only about an inch in from the edge of the crust will look stable - just trust.
Once baked, carefully remove the pan from the oven.
Leave it to cool for about 30 minutes at room temperature then transfer it to the fridge to set for at least 6 hours until it doesn't wiggle and jiggle anymore.

Serving

The tart should pop out pretty easily after having chilled in the fridge. Carefully while holding on to the outer edge of the pan with one hand, place your other hand under the base and gently press up. The tart should pop out.
Use a long thin knife or serving spatula to remove the base. Then place the tart on the dish you plan to serve it from. If this makes you nervous, you can always leave the tart on the base and if you used a pie pan you can just serve it straight from the pan.
Sprinkle the top with flakey sea salt just before serving. Cut the tart with a long sharp knife into 12 even slices. Serve cold and store any leftovers in the fridge.

Notes

Tips for making a Maple Latte Custard Tart

I prefer to blend the graham crackers because I find you get a better texture and the crust holds together a bit better but smashing them will work too!
All graham crackers aren't created equal so I recommend adding in the butter, mixing it and adding more just until it holds together. If you add too much butter it will all leak out of the bottom of the tart pan.
I really recommend using espresso for the custard filling and if you don't have your own espresso machine you can go to a local coffee shop and get a double shot to go! In a pinch you can substitute it with cold brew I just don't find the flavor works as well.
When cooking the custard, do not walk away and do it over a low temperature. We want it to just thicken if you cook it too long or too hot the custard will curdle and you'll have to start over.
I recommend making it the day before - this will give it plenty of time to set up in the fridge. I wouldn't make it more than a day (maybe 2 before) because some condensation can make the crust start to soften. Wait to sprinkle the salt on until you plan to serve it because it will draw the moisture out of the custard and cause it to break down.

Nutrition