What wine to pair with a custard tart

My assertion that custard tarts are the new cupcakes provoked such a heated exchange that I thought I’d stoke the fire by suggesting what you drink with ‘em.

By custard tarts of course I’m not referring to the traditional British version known up north as a ‘custard’ with which it would be wrong to drink anything but a strong cup of tea (with at least one sugar) but the much sexier Portuguese version now seen all over London and bakeries throughout the UK.

I reckon there are two ways to go depending on your mood and the time of day.

For a morning tart (there is something slightly risqué about that phrase) I reckon it should be coffee, preferably black

For an afternoon or evening tart, a small glass of strong, sweet wine. Port would be the obvious option, given the origins of the tart (tawny rather than ruby, I’d suggest) but other sweet wines such as oloroso or cream sherry, similar styles of montilla, malaga, madeira and orangey moscatels would be great too. (Whatever you have to hand - and if you don’t, you should. Sweet sherry is an incredible bargain.)

Posh creamy custard tarts of the kind admirably crafted by St John (and, happily nearer to home, Sam Leach of Birch in Bristol) could take a dessert wine such as a Sauternes or a lighter moscatel.

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