HONG KONG EGG TARTS

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Source: adapted from Aunty Yochana
(Recipe for 20 tarts)
Custard Filling
240 g eggs
160 g sugar
480 ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract











Tart Shells
125 g salted butter, softened
60 g icing sugar, sifted
15 g egg white
15 g egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
210 g plain flour

To make tart filling, whisk sugar with eggs till melted. Add milk and vanilla extract. Whisk till
evenly mixed. Sieve to remove big bubbles, into something that can pour without dripping. Set
aside till small bubbles subside, about 1 hours.

To make tart dough, mix butter and icing sugar till smooth. Add egg white, yolk and vanilla
extract. Mix till well combined. If dough is sticky, sprinkle with flour 1 tsp at a time and mix
through. If dough is dry and crumbly, sprinkle with water instead 1 tsp at a time. Place dough in
freezer till just firm, spread out to cool down faster. This should take 10 minutes or so. When
lining tart moulds, remove dough from freezer portion at a time.

To line tart moulds, smooth 2 plastic sheets so that there are no folds. Roll 30 g dough into a
ball. Place ball
between plastic
sheets. Press
evenly with flat-
bottomed plate to
form a circle 2 mm
thick and 10 cm
wide, checking
thickness and
evenness by
touching dough
with palm. Remove
top plastic sheet.
Place 8 x 2.5 cm
tart mould on dough, rim side down. Flip mould, along with dough and remaining plastic sheet,
to face upward. Press dough into mould, from centre to rim. Remove plastic sheet. Trim excess
dough around edges. Run fingers round tart mould, gently pressing to even out thickness and
remove air pockets if necessary. Trim again if there's excess dough.

To bake tart shells, preheat oven to 150C. Place shells on baking tray. Bake 15 minutes in
middle of oven.
Increase
temperature to
180C. Continue
baking till slightly
brown, another 5
minutes or so.
Remove from
oven. Leave on
wire rack to cool
down completely.

To bake tarts,
preheat oven to 165C. If you want to line your baking tray with foil, it should be shiny side down. Pour
custard into shells, to 2 mm from rim. Bake 15 minutes in bottom of oven. Reduce temperature to
150C. Move tray to middle of oven. Top up filling to make up for evaporation. Bake till custard is just
slightly wobbly in the middle when shaken, another 15 minutes or so. If custard puffs up during last few
minutes but is still too watery in the middle, remove tarts from oven to cool down till custard subsides,
then continue baking. Watch custard closely towards the end to make sure it doesn't overcook.

Serve hot, or at least
warm. Leftovers
should be
refrigerated. Tarts
may be reheated at
120C using bottom
heat only for 10
minutes or so. Pastry
isn't soggy at all if
reheated without
moulds.