Custard tart: the traditional English dessert

The custard tart is regarded as one of Britain’s traditional dishes. It remained a favourite over the centuries and is just as popular today. Even the name has an ancient pedigree - it is derived from both the old French word for crust (crouste), and the Anglo-Norman ‘crustarde’, which meant a tart or pie with a crust.

蛋挞是公认的英国传统美食之一，几百年来一直深得人们的喜爱，直到今天仍然广受欢迎。甚至连“蛋挞”这一名字也有着古老的渊源——“蛋挞”来源于“酥皮”（crust）的法语词“crouste”和盎格鲁诺尔曼语词“crustarde”，“crustarde”意思是带酥皮的蔬菜、水果或肉馅饼。

Custard tarts were popular during Medieval times and records show that King Henry IV enjoyed them at his coronation banquet in 1399.

早在中世纪时，蛋挞就已经风靡一时。有记载称，1399年，英国国王亨利四世在加冕礼宴会上就享用了蛋挞这种美食。

Henry IV is not the only English monarch with a liking for them. Called ‘doucets’ in the Middle Ages, they were equally popular at the court of Henry VIII. Henry VIII’s daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, who had a famously sweet tooth, also had a great liking for custard in pastry. At her court, custard tarts grew to enormous sizes and had jesters prancing around in the wobbly mix. The mess must have been quite considerable!

亨利四世可不是唯一钟情于蛋挞的英国君王。在亨利八世时期的宫廷里，蛋挞同样广受青睐。亨利八世的女儿，嗜好甜食的女王伊丽莎白一世也对蛋挞情有独钟。她的宫廷中囤积了大量的蛋挞，再加上逗趣的弄臣在宫中摇摆表演，那场面真是乱得无以复加！

Another Royal, Queen Elizabeth the II was also served custard tart as the dessert for her recent 80th birthday celebration.

在另外一位皇室成员——女王伊丽莎白二世80岁的寿宴上，蛋挞也被作为甜点款待宾客。

Today, custard tarts are usually made from short crust pastry, eggs, sugar, milk or cream, and vanilla, sprinkled with nutmeg and baked. However, in King Henry’s day they could have included ingredients such as pork mince or beef marrow, but they were always filled with a sweet custard.

如今，蛋挞通常以松脆的酥皮、鸡蛋、糖、牛奶或奶油、香草为原料，撒上肉豆蔻烤制而成。然而，在亨利时期，蛋挞还可能含有猪肉末或牛骨髓等食材，但总要覆盖上甜甜的蛋奶糊。

To make them a special treat they can be topped with fresh strawberries or raspberries. In the past they were much richer, and more fattening. Almond milk and honey was often added—much too sweet for today’s tastes.

以蛋挞款待尊贵的客人时，还可以在顶部放上新鲜的草莓或覆盆子。以前，蛋挞里常常会加入杏仁奶和蜂蜜，很油腻且容易让人发胖。显然，这样的口味对于今天的人们来说过于甜腻了。

The custard tart is a lovely treat to come home to and goes wonderfully with a cup of Earl Grey tea. You just can’t get more English than that.

在家招待客人，蛋挞是很好的选择。再配上一杯格雷伯爵茶，那滋味更是妙不可言，没有比这更英式的美味了。

Vocabulary:

short 文中指“松脆的”

Earl Grey tea 格雷伯爵茶，以查尔斯•格雷伯爵命名的混合型调味茶