How to Make Home-made Egg Tarts

Egg tart is one of the delicacies that can be found in most Asian countries, especially in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. Egg tart was introduced to Hong Kong as a kind of “dim sum” (snack) during the 1940s. Nowadays, egg tarts come in all kind of flavors such as milk tarts, honey-egg tarts, ginger-flavored egg tarts, chocolate egg tarts, green-tea-flavored egg tarts, and even bird's nest tarts. Although there are all kinds of egg tarts in the market, I still think that the original flavor egg tart tasted the best.
I would like to introduce this delicious egg tart recipe to those who has never taste it before and also loves pastries. Try to bake this for your loved ones and I am sure that it will brighten up their days. Although these are not as good as the ones compared with the bakery shops, but they taste the most delicious because you made them with your heart. It is made with outer crispy crust that is filled with soft, moist egg custard. The preparation time is approximately 2 hours. You don’t really have to be a good cook in order to do this because most of the procedures are simple and easy to follow. I have improved the recipe from time to time and added up some important steps on it.

Ingredients:

A)Crust ( 8 tarts)

·1 ½ unsalted butter stick(1 cup)

·2 cups flour

·1 egg

·150ml powdered sugar

·½ tsp salt

B)Egg Custard (10-12 tarts)

·5 small eggs/ 4 medium eggs/ 3 large eggs

·290ml milk

·75ml water

·190ml sugar or less (1.5cups)

·1 pinch salt

Equipments needed:

·Electric mixer(optional)

·2 large bowls

·Measuring cup

·Whisk

·Tart tins or disposable muffin tins

·toothpicks

Step 1: Melt the Butter

Set the butter into microwave and heat it up for a minute or two until the butter dissolve completely.

Note: You can either melt or use electric mixer to beat the butter until it is soft and fluffy.

Step 2: Add Flour, Powdered Sugar, Egg and Salt Together Into the Butter

After adding those ingredients, use your hand to knead the dough. You can stop kneading if it turns soft, pliable dough.

Note : Electric mixer might not work well in kneading dough because it will spill flour all over the place and make a mess to your kitchen.

Step 3: Form Small Balls of Dough and Place Them on Tart Tins (or Disposable Muffin Tins)

Start forming the base using your fingers to push the dough into the mould. You can trim away excess dough on the mould.

Tip : This method is considered to be the toughest among others. A delicious egg tart depends on how thick your crust is. If the crust is too thick, you tend to consume more crust and less custard which leaves you unsatisfactory feeling. If it is too thin, the egg tart will fall apart easily.

Step 4: Mix All the Ingredients for Making Egg Custard

You have to beat the ingredients gently for a minute or two with a whisk. The egg yolk should blend together with other ingredients. In the end, the mixture will become light yellow in color.

Note:It is all right if you happened to find some visible yellow patches or the egg white that does not dissolve completely in the mixture. They do not affect the taste of the custard.

Step 5: Pour the Egg Custard Mixture Into a Measuring Cup

After that, start by filling the crust with egg custard. Please do not pour until it is completely full because it will spill out easily. If it is full, the filling will expand because of the heat in the oven and spill all over the place. This will create a mess in your oven.

Step 6: Preheat the Oven to 350 �F and Bake Them for 40 to 50 Minutes.

You have to monitor the conditions of the egg tarts from time to time. This is because the crust will get burned easily. Remove them from the oven when they turned golden brown.

Warning: Please handle with care while you are working with oven. If you happened to burn yourself, seek medical help immediately.

Step 7: Insert a Toothpick Into the Custard

This is to ensure that the custard is ready to be eaten! It will stand on its own if it is cooked. If it is not, bake them again for a few minutes.

Step 8: Remove the Egg Tarts From Disposable Muffin Tins (or Tart Tins)

Before this, leave the egg tarts to cool down for a minute or two. Do not take them off right away because the crusts are still soft and will break easily.

Warning: Be very careful while removing the egg tarts from the hot tins because you might scale yourself if you do not handle them cautiously.

Step 9: Serve the Egg Tarts!

Finally, the egg tarts are ready to be served! It is advisable to serve the egg tarts while they are piping hot from the oven. You will able to taste the crunchy crust with the soft moist egg custard fresh from the oven. The egg tarts can be kept in refrigerator up to 3 days. This is a simplified version of an egg tart recipe. You can search more recipes and compare with others if you wish to produce tastier egg tarts. Enjoy!