Custard tarts are a real pleasure. You can enjoy them on their own or alongside a cup of coffee. But perhaps you want to knock together a batch of tarts to supply you with treats over the coming weeks and months. But, how do you store them?
Can You Freeze Custard Tarts?
Yes, you can freeze custard tarts for up to 1 month. However, unfortunately, custard tarts will not freeze well.
Do Do Custard Tarts freeze well? No
Can you refreeze Custard Tarts? No
How to Freeze Custard Tarts
If you’re still determined to store custard tarts in the freezer, then this is the best approach to take:
- Cool: If you’re baking the tarts yourself, then allow them time to cool to room temperature.
- Place Into a Container: Tarts, and pastry in particular, are fragile. So grab a plastic Tupperware box and place your tarts in there. Seal with the lid.
- Wrap: If you’re worried the lid isn’t airtight, wrap the box in cling film.
- Freeze: Place the box in the freezer, and that’s it!
3 Tips for Freezing Custard Tarts
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing custard tarts to have the best results:
Don’t Bother
Unfortunately, custard tarts simply do not freeze well. If you’re worried that you’ll notice the textural change, then we would advise not bothering with freezing them.
Use Rigid Containers
Custard tarts are fragile, so when freezing them, we would use a rigid, Tupperware container so there’s no risk of squashing or breaking them when placing them into the freezer.
Warm Through
Warming them through can help to hide some of the textural changes. You only need to place them into a warm oven for 5 to 10 minutes once defrosted.
How Long Can You Freeze Custard Tarts?
With the texture of custard tarts degrading rapidly the longer they are left in the freezer, we would advise only storing them frozen for up to a month.
Beyond this point, they’ll become unbearably grainy. As always, make sure you take time to label your frozen tarts, so you know when to consume them by.
Custard tarts can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for around 3 days. They will begin to soften over time, so may need crisping up in the oven before eating them.
How Do You Defrost Custard Tarts?
When defrosting custard tarts, you need to go slow and steady. If you have any hope of thawing them successfully, place them in the fridge and allow them to thaw overnight.
You’ll then want to warm them and throw them in the oven to try and mask some of the textural issues you’ll now have.
Can You Refreeze Custard Tarts?
Custard tarts already won’t freeze well, unfortunately. Refreezing them will only set you up for further failure with major changes to the texture making them almost inedible.
We would strongly advise against not refreezing custard tarts.
Do Custard Tarts Freeze Well?
Nope. That’s the simple, hard and disappointing truth about freezing custard tarts.
As we’ve mentioned, when you freeze custard-based products, you’ll have issues. As the custard thaws, the liquid separates from the fats and seeps into the pastry.
This leaves you with grainy custard and soggy pastry.
They’ll still taste delicious. So if you’re options are freezing them or throwing them out, then why not try freezing them.
If you warm them through in the oven and serve them alongside a coffee, you’ll still be able to enjoy them.
No. They won’t be as good as freshly baked custard tarts, but they’ll be better than nothing…
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing custard tarts or custard in general, then these may help:
Unfortunately, everything in this article about custard tarts applies to Pastel de Natas. Portugal’s answer to the custard tart freezes even worse as the crisp, buttery pastry that has been meticulously worked gets ruined.
Yes, Manchester tart can be frozen but the custard filling will split and becoming grainy once the tart has been thawed.
