Can you fill it?
With the crust in the oven, pour the filling in,
keeping your eyes laser-focused on how full the
crust is getting. Remember: THE LOWEST TART
SIDE IS YOUR MAXIMUM FILL LINE. Switch from
the jug to a cup if tilting the jug gets difficult. If
you do overfill, move fast and scoop a little filling
out with a small cup. There’s no shame in having
a bit of mix left over – a low (‘tide’s out’) tart is
better than a stuck-in-the-tin tart. As your pastry
rolling and baking skills reach boss level, the
leftover amount will be less and less. Goals!
If one tart side is lower than the other, use this hack:
fold a piece of paper towel into a small, thick square.

Lift the low crust side and place the wedge under the
tin, lifting up the low side.

I don’t want no bubbs
If the top of your tart has any bubbles/froth after
pouring the filling into the tart shell, fire up a
blowtorch and swipe it lightly across the top.

Shake ya tart!
Open the oven and give the tart tin a gentle
push to assess the wobble. While the filling will
continue to cook when the oven is turned off, if
it ripples like liquid rather than having a viscous
quiver, add more bake time – the filling won’t set.

Look for a wobbly set gel/jelly/Jell-O movement in
the custard. If there’s no wobble, remove from the
oven and chill ASAP to arrest the cooking. Once
the minimum bake time has been reached, I check
every 5 minutes. The tin depth will determine total
baking time. Deeper tart tins need extra minutes.

Slow cool
Cool your tart to room temperature before you
chill (unless you overbaked!). Chilling immediately
shocks the custard into contracting away from
the crust.

Total release of the tart
If the tart tin doesn’t fall away easily, it will be
because a little liquid filling has escaped or the
butter in the crust has chilled and set. A quick
sweep around the sides with a blowtorch will
loosen it enough to pop the tart out. If it is super
stuck, shimmy a wooden skewer or toothpick
down each ridge. Tidy up the crust by gently
wiping off the filling ooze with paper towel, or
scrape off with a small knife. If the tart is stuck
to the bottom and won’t release easily, carefully
place the tart base on a very warm stove hob for
10 seconds, then carefully slide a knife between
the base of the tin and the crust.

Underbaked fillings
You can spot an underbaked tart filling if the
centre still looks too jiggly at room temperature.

Confirm your suspicion by poking a little hole in
the skin of your cooled tart – if it is liquid, you’ll
know a slice won’t hold up when the tart is cut.

But fear not! It’s not the end of the pie-way. While
tricky to re-bake, it can be done – but you do have
to give up the dream of the most perfect tart.

To re-bake, the tart filling needs to heat up THEN
bake further to set properly. Return the tart in the
tin (if unmoulded, the tart crust will soften as it
reheats and flex backwards) to a 90°C (195°F)
oven. Bake for at least 30–40 minutes before
checking if the wobble is firmer. Continue to
bake for 10-minute increments until the right
set is reached.

The downside to re-baking is that a thicker crust
can form on the filling surface and it can overbake
a little further at the edges. If you are happy to
swap flawless for fair enough, your tart will still
be loved at the table!