However, his very rich, buttery pastry is incredibly fragile; I find Gellatly’s slightly more robust stuff much easier to work with. His advice “to let your pastry case get a little browner than you think it should be at the blind-baking stage” also proves invaluable. Many a great custard tart has been felled by soggy pastry, and Spry, who mysteriously does not suggest blind baking, and Grigson – who blind bakes hers but neglects to mention putting it back in the oven for a couple of minutes without the baking beans – both let themselves down here. It’s vital, when dealing with a filling as liquid as this, to prepare your pastry defences with meticulous care and to invest in an insurance policy of beaten egg for good measure.