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Monday, March 14, 2011

Mini Egg Tarts (迷你蛋撻)--Hong Kong Bakery Style

Before we start our regular post, I just want to take a moment of silence with you to remember those who are affected and have lost their home, family, loved ones, or their lives in the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.  My heart goes out to the victims.  Let us all lend our hands to those who are in need, in whatever way we could.
        
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Egg Tarts

Egg tarts (蛋撻) or egg custard tarts are baked pastries commonly found in Hong Kong and many other Asian countries, which consist of an outer pastry crusts that are filled with egg custard.  Egg tarts (蛋撻) were introduced in Hong Kong in the 1940s by Chinese tea diners (茶餐廳), one of my favorite place to go after school, with my classmates, to enjoy an afternoon tea. The egg tarts were then introduced in western cafes, bakeries and even dim sum restaurants.  Nowadays, there are many variations of these egg tarts, but the traditional ones are the most popular, still.  Hong Hong egg tarts have two main type of crusts, they are the “cookie” crusts and puff pastry crusts.  Some high-end pastry shops even top these egg tarts with bird’s nest (a delicacy made from the salivary excretions of the swiftlet).  I know that doesn’t sound too appetizing but many believe the bird’s nest has many health benefits, such as aiding digestion, alleviating asthma, improving focus, and an overall benefit to the immune system.  Although I’m no expert in confirming these health benefits, I can tell you that the bird’s nest is very, very ,very expensive; averaging a whooping $60 USD per ounce (by weight, yes, it’s ounce, NOT pound).



Egg Tarts

Back to these egg tarts, I personally preferred the “cookie” crust (actually, it a very simple pastry crust) over the puff pastry crust, and it is also the kind of recipe that I’m sharing with you.  This crust is buttery, crumbly, crispy on the edges and very delicate.  If you preferred the puff pastry ones, by all means go for it.   I have yet to attempt to make my own puff pastry, so I don’t have a recipe available.  Fortunately, many supermarkets do carry the ready to use puff pastry in the frozen baking/pie crust section to make lives easier.  I made these egg tarts in mini size and they are perfect 2-bite treats.  My kids love them in minis.  Perfect for their little hands and mouths.  :)  And of course, every thing look super cute in mini size.

Egg Tarts

The egg custard filling is smooth and soft.  The texture resembles crème brûlée or pod de crème, very creamy and not too firm.  It’s exactly how a perfect egg tart should be.  I love the fact that these egg tarts are made with simple ingredients and they turn out to be amazingly tasteful.  It’s best to enjoy them with a cup of hot Hong Kong-style milk tea!  These egg tarts surely brings back many childhood memories.  All sweet and warm memories.     
 
Egg Tarts

**Note: In case if you’re wondering how the mini tart molds look like, please click here.








Mini Egg Tarts:
Makes 24 mini egg tarts—2 3/8-inch diameter and 3/4-inch height
Ingredients of crust:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 1/2 ounces (9 tablespoons) cold salted butter, diced
1 large egg, whisked
a dash of vanilla extract
Ingredients of custard:
1/4 cup sugar
6 oz milk
2 large eggs
2 ounces evaporated milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add powdered sugar, flour and butter . Pulse until the butter is in the size of peas.  Add the egg and vanilla extract and process until the dough comes together.  Place dough on a floured board and form into a disk.  Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, work on the custard.  Heat milk and sugar in a small sauce pan until simmer, stir until sugar is completely dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Whisk egg, evaporated milk and vanilla extract together until well combined.  Pour into sugar mixture.  Sift egg mixtures twice to make custard is smooth.

Preheat oven to 400F. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to around 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with a cookie cutter that is about 4-inch in diameter and fit into tart tins.  Don't stretch the dough when placing it in the tins or it will shrink during baking. Cut off the excess by rolling the pin across the top of each tins. Line the tart shells with a piece of parchment paper and fill them with rice or lentils. Place on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 8 minutes or until the edges are slight brown. Remove from oven. 
Lower oven temperature to 350F.  Remove rice or lentils and parchment paper from shells.  Fill shells with custard mixture.  Return to the oven and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until the custard is set.  Cool tarts in the tins on wiring rack for 3-5 minutes. Remove from tin and cool on rack. Best serve warm.


26 comments:

  1. I love egg tarts! This looks really mouthwatering and the custard looks so silky smooth as well. Yummmm.... Thanks. Hope you're having a great week ahead.
    Blessings, Kristy

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  2. Yum! Wonderful classic dessert. Yours look terrific! Thanks for sharing.

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  3. I so love custard! These look delicious and oh so cute!!

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  4. God Bless the People of Japan affected by this natural disaster.

    Lovely tarts, just nice for my tea break now.

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  5. It's so frightening watching what is happening hour by hour.

    I love love love egg tarts, but have never ever tried to make them. I love both kinds though I like the puff pastry. Thank you for sharing the recipe - I might actually try it!! Yikes. Don't think it can look as good as this.

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  6. These egg tarts look beautiful and delicious. Yummy!

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  7. I'm REALLY sad I didn't try these while I was in San Francisco..they/sound look delicious!

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  8. Love, love, love egg tarts...!!And your ones are too pretty to eat :D)!

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  9. Thank you everyone for your sweet comments. :)

    @ Belinda: Don't worry, I'm sure your egg tarts will turn out just as beautiful. Give it a try, you'll be glad you did. ;)

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  10. I have never had these before, but your pictures sure make me want to try them. Very nice post. Thank you.

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  11. My daughter's favourite, egg tarts! Yours look really good. My prayers goes to the people in Japan.
    I have an award for you. Please do stop by to collect when you can. Thank you!

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  12. Egg tarts is my son fav.! like the lovely cupcake cases too ^_^

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  13. This looks amazing! I'm going to have to try it, thanks! :)

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  14. Hi Amy, I would like to inform you that I have pass an award to you, please drop by my blog to pick up when you are free. Cheers!

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  15. These are darling and I'd love to try one. I'm SURE they're delicious.

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  16. Thanks for the recipe Amy. I am going to try them real soon. All this while, being lazy, I just bought them over the counter....

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  17. Hi Amy,
    Oh my....your Egg Tarts look so delicious. I would love to come spend the day with you in your kitchen...we would have fun! Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and please come back!

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  18. wow, these are so cute! love it, thanks for sharing :)
    -meg
    @ http://clutzycooking.blogspot.com

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  19. Looks amazing can't wait to try it, thx :)

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  20. Can i use super fine caster sugar if so is it less than 1/2 cup? Thanks!

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    1. You can only use caster sugar to replace the 1/4 cup sugar in the custard, but not the powder sugar in the crust. The powdered sugar contains cornstarch in it and you need that in the crust as binding agent and absorb any extra moisture.

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  21. hi there! thanks for sharing the recipe! just so i get it right: "Line the tart shells with a piece of parchment paper and fill them with rice or lentils" --> does this mean putting the dough in the tart tins (hence tart shells) and then placing them on a piece of parchment paper, and fill the shells with rice/lentils? what is the reason for the rice/lentils? will the rice be cooked and still usable after that?

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    1. You're very welcome. The step you're referring to in this recipe is called "blind baking". Which is to partially bake the tart shell without the filling. That way, your tart shell will stay dry and flaky and NOT soggy after you bake them with the egg custard filling.

      The step should be:

      1) Preheat oven to 400F.
      2) On a floured surface, roll out the dough to around 1/4-inch thickness.
      3) Cut dough with a cookie cutter that is about 4-inch in diameter and fit into tart tins. Don't stretch the dough when placing it in the tins or it will shrink during baking.
      4) Cut off the excess by rolling the pin across the top of each tins.
      5) Line the tart shells with a piece of parchment paper and fill them with rice or lentils.
      6) Place on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 8 minutes or until the edges are slight brown. Remove from oven.

      Which means that after you roll and cut out the dough, it goes directly into the tart pan, the cover the tart dough with a piece of parchment paper on top. THEN, fill the parchment paper with the rice/lentils. The rice/lentils used to weight down the parchment paper so the dough/tart shell doesn't pop up as much during the blind baking process.

      Using a piece of parchment paper in between the dough and the rice so you can lift up the rice easily without getting them into your dough/tart shell. I usually keep the same rice/lentil in a jar for blind baking purposes (I haven't try cooking them after they're used as weight in baking, so not sure if they would taste the same or have the same texture).

      Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

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    2. oh i get it now. thanks so much for the explanation! i was just youtubing a video on making egg tarts but a different method was used. i think i'll try your recipe this weekend. i don't have a food processor so i hope making the dough by hand would do =)

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    3. I'm glad the explanation helped. :) You can still make the dough without a food processor. By hand is okay, just make sure you work fast so the butter stays as cold as possible. If you have a pastry blender, you can use that too. Happy baking. Hope you like the recipe and these egg tarts are perfect for Easter weekend. ;)

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