Delicious Chinese-style delicacy of pie tarts with egg custard filling

RECIPE

Serves: 50

Ingredients
TART
1 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 cup butter
2 egg, beaten
2 dash vanilla extract

FILLING
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups water
9 eggs, beaten
1 dash vanilla extract
1 cup milk

(Preheat oven to 200C)
1. Mix sugar and flour, then mix in butter with a fork till it's in small crumbs
2. Stir in egg and vanilla till mixture becomes a dough (add flour if too wet, butter if too dry)
3. Shape dough in 1.5inch balls and press them into the tart moulds
4. Heat the water and sugar in a medium sauce pan until the sugar is fully dissolved, then whisk the eggs in and add vanilla and milk
5. Pour the egg custard filling into the tart moulds and bake for about 15-20min or until the crust is lightly brown

(modified from original recipe here)

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Just like Pam said, egg tarts are actually surprisingly easy to make! The only problem is that it's extremely time consuming having to shape the pie tarts into the foil.

I took some tips from people who reviewed the original recipe and lessened the amount of sugar in the pie crust, and it turned out absolutely perfect! Exactly like those from the Chinese bakeries. I had to make two batches of pie dough though (already adjusted on my recipe), as the amount for the pie dough in the original recipe is no where near enough. Make sure the butter is sufficiently softened (not melted!) before mixing it in, or you'll have a problem achieving a good texture (not too wet and greasy or hard) for moulding.

I think it's also a good idea to keep watch on the oven for the first batch put in, because overbaking causes the egg custard to wrinkle up and develop burnt patches which do not look particularly delicious. Also, use aluminium foil moulds or anything that is stiff enough to retain its shape in the oven. For the first few batches I used normal cupcake cups (without a muffin pan too!) and had problems with egg custard spilling all over the place.

These egg tarts were a huge hit with most people, for being a delicacy that pretty much none of my friends here (from Japan to America to Europe) had heard of or even tried before. Hmm, I'm sensing a hole in the market! ^o^

VERDICT: 8/10

Labels: BAKING

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