HONG KONG EGG TARTS (港式蛋挞)

Source: adapted from Aunty Yochana(Recipe for 20 tarts) Custard Filling240 g eggs 160 g sugar 480 ml milk 1¼ tsp vanilla extract

Tart Shells125 g salted butter, softened60 g icing sugar, sifted15 g egg white 15 g egg yolk1 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 1¼ 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 ¼ 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 150°C. Place shells on baking tray. Bake 15 minutes in middle of oven. Increase temperature to 180°C. 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 165°C. 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 150°C. 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 120°C using bottom heat only for 10 minutes or so. Pastry isn't soggy at all if reheated without moulds.