Left over egg nog? No problem. Make this gingerbread, no-bake egg nog custard tart.

Egg Nog Gingerbread Tarts
Ingredients:  

Gingerbread Sable Tarts
for tips and tricks on making tart dough, click here
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
- 3 teaspoons ground ginger (adjust spices based on your personal preference)
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons dark molasses
+ raw rice or beans for weighting the crust
Egg Nog Creme Froid (No-bake custard)
* For regular “no-bake Creme Brulee”; substitute regular cream instead of egg nog
- 1 cup egg nog
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 7 egg yolks
- 180 grams of sugar or 1 1/4 cup
- 1 packet of gelatin, or 2 gelatin leaves
- 1/2 tsp salt

Decorations:
- optional; I dusted with cinnamon sugar and topped it off with chocolate covered crispy crunchies

For the ginger bread tart shells:

1. Using the paddle attachment, lightly cream together butter, sugar, vanilla and molasses in a mixing bowl.

2. Scrape down sides and add egg and mix until combined. Sift flour and spices together, and add to the mixture just until incorporated. Do not over mix or you will end up with a tough dough.

3. Bring dough together on a lightly flour dusted surface. Divide the dough into two, shape into disks, and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least half hour before you move on to the next steps. You can freeze the dough for up to two months if you want to use it at a later time.

4. To roll out the dough: sandwhich the dough between two pieces of parchment paper (or plastic wrap), and roll out to 1/8″ thick. Make sure that your is rolled out enough to fit the size of your tart pan. The dough should be used as soon as it has been rolled out.

5. Mold your pastry into your tart pan and refrigerate– refrigerating the dough prior to baking guards against excessive shrinking during baking. Using a fork, gently prick the bottom of the dough. Be careful not to fully puncture the dough or else any fillings might leak through. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, while your oven preheats to 350′F

6. Line tart with parchment paper (or cupcake liners if they fit), and fill with dried beans, rice, or pie weights. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove the shells from the oven, allow to cool for 3-5 minutes and remove the parchment paper and beans.Return to the oven for 8-10 minutes to fully bake the base.

Don’t forget to check out the tutorial for a simple pâte sucrée for more tips and tricks for tart shells

For the Egg Nog No-bake Filling:

1. Place the leaves of gelatin in a bowl of ice water, or bloom your powdered gelatin as per packet directions. Put off to the side for later use.

2. Warm cream and egg nog on low-medium heat. You  want the cream hot, however, do not scald. Remove cream from stove.

3. In a separate bowl: mix together sugar and yolk. DO NOT mix sugar and yolk together until you are ready to use them. Slowly temper in the warm cream, adding the cream about 1/4 cup at a time, stirring consistently. Cook on stove top at low heat until candy thermometer reaches 66 degrees Celsius and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Make sure you are constantly stirring to avoid curdling the eggs. You don’t want to whisk too heavily because you’ll incorporate too many bubbles into the custard.

4. Take gelatin leaves out of water and wring the water out of them. Add the gelatin to the custard and mix slowly until they dissolve. Strain. Pour into tart shells. Allow about 2 hours for them to set. Decorate and embellish the tarts before serving.