Danes like their cakes. Cremelinser or custard filled tartlets is another classic danish cake. The cake is not overly sweet, but has great textures. I really like the crispy flaky crust with the creamy vanilla filling.

I remember cremelinser as an old lady cake, mostly because we only got them when we went to visit my grandmother. I got a new appreciation for the cake, working at the baker's shop, where we sold loads of them to people in all ages.

Makes 8-10 tartlets.

Ingredients:

Custard:

3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2,5 dl milk
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Pastry:

300 g all-purpose flour
150 g butter, salted and room temperature
100 g confectionary sugar (powdered sugar)
1 egg

Directions:

Custard:

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale in color. Whisk in the cornstarch and vanilla paste.

Heat the milk to a slow boil, set aside.

While whisking vigorously drizzle the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture, just a tiny bit at a time at first. Once you’ve added about ¼ of the milk, you can add the rest in a thin steady stream, whisking constantly.

Pour the mixture back in the saucepan and reheat it over medium heat. Whisk constantly until it thickens. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Sprinkle with sugar or press some plastic wrap against the custard so it won't form a pudding skin. Chill the custard completely in the refrigerator.

Pastry:

Mix the butter in the flour and sugar in a stand mixer. Add the egg and mix just until the dough starts to lump together. Form the dough into 2 discs and wrap it in plastic wrap, and let it rest for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 360℉ (180℃).

On a floured surface roll one of the dough discs to about 1/10-inch (3 mm) thickness. Cut out round a little larger than the tartlet pans. Line the pans, letting the dough hanging a bit over the edge.

Roll out the other disc to the same thickness, and cut out rounds for tartlet lids.

Fill the tartlets ⅔ with the custard, and place the lid on top. Gently press down along the edge to seal the tartlet. Bake the tartlets for 15-20 minutes until light golden brown. The cooking time will vary depending on size.

Let the tartlets cool completely before removing from the pans.

Enjoy!