Gypsy tart is a crisp shortcrust shell filled with chilled evaporated milk and dark muscovado sugar whipped until thick and mousse-like, then baked just long enough to set. The filling turns into a light, airy, toffee-flavored layer with a slightly sticky top. Makes 10 servings in about 11 hr 22 min.
Prep30 min
Cook37 min
Cooling10 hr 15 min
Total
11 hr 22 min
Servings
10
Ingredients
Adjust yield
servings
Scales from a half to a double batch. Laminated and yeasted doughs are easiest to handle one batch at a time; bake extra pans in rounds.
1 ⅔ cups (200 g)all-purpose flour
3 ½ tbsp (25 g)powdered sugar
1 pinchfine salt
½ cup (100 g)unsalted butter, cold, diced
1(18 g)egg yolk
2 tbsp (30 ml)ice water, plus 1 tsp more if needed
1 ½ cups (354 ml)evaporated milk, one 12-oz can, chilled overnight
1 ¼ cups (250 g)dark muscovado sugar, lumps rubbed out
The day before, put the can of evaporated milk in the refrigerator so it is thoroughly cold, at least 8 hours.
Make the pastry: whisk the all-purpose flour, powdered sugar and fine salt in a bowl, then rub in the cold unsalted butter with your fingertips until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Mix the egg yolk with the ice water, add it and stir with a knife until the dough clumps, adding the extra teaspoon of water only if needed. Press into a disk, wrap and chill 30 minutes.
Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick and line the tart pan, pressing it into the edges and leaving a little overhang. Prick the base with a fork and chill 15 minutes. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Line the pastry with parchment, fill with pie weights and bake 15 minutes. Remove the paper and weights and bake until the base is dry and golden, 8 to 10 minutes more. Trim the overhang and let the shell cool for about 30 minutes while you make the filling.
Pour the cold evaporated milk into a large bowl and add the dark muscovado sugar. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, mousse-like, pale coffee-colored and roughly doubled in volume, 10 to 15 minutes.
Pour the whipped filling into the pastry shell and smooth the top.
Bake until the top is set with a slightly tacky, shiny skin but the filling still wobbles gently in the center, 10 to 12 minutes.
Cool the tart completely in the pan at room temperature, at least 1 hour, so the filling firms, then remove from the pan and slice.
Tips
The milk must be very cold and the bowl large; warm evaporated milk will not whip up.
Light muscovado or light brown sugar gives a paler, milder tart; dark muscovado gives the classic deep toffee flavor.
A few small sticky spots on top are normal and part of the tart's character.
Good with builder's tea.
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Plan on 30 minutes of prep and 37 minutes of cooking, plus 10 hours 15 minutes to chill and rest. The recipe makes 10 servings.
How should I store gypsy tart?
Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days; the filling stays light but the pastry softens a little after day 1.
Can I make gypsy tart ahead?
Yes. It needs time to chill and set, so it is a good one to make the day before you serve it.
Gypsy tart is a Kent dish, often linked to the Isle of Sheppey, and was a staple of Kent school dinners in the 1960s and 1970s; its exact origin is unrecorded. Serve it with builder's tea.
Variations
Individual gypsy tarts: line twelve 3-inch (7.5 cm) tartlet pans or a 12-cup muffin pan, blind bake 12 to 15 minutes, fill and bake 6 to 8 minutes.
Orange-zest version: beat 1 tsp (2 g) finely grated orange zest into the filling at the end; bake time unchanged.
Light brown sugar version: use 250 g (1 1/4 cups packed) light brown sugar for a softer caramel taste.
Make-ahead shell: blind bake the pastry case up to 1 day ahead and keep it airtight at room temperature.
Estimated · per serving
Nutrition
Per serving = 1 of 10 servings this recipe makes.
306Calories / serving
11.6gFat
46.4gCarbs
4.9gProtein
31.2gSugar
Whole recipe (10 servings):
~3060 cal ·
116g fat ·
464g carbs ·
49g protein ·
312g sugar
Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.
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