Egg Tarts (warm your heart~)

"Friendship is the most important ingredient in this recipe of life". 

They may take different paths in life and walk in opposite directions to you, yet they continue to remain by your side, close to your heart.

After more than ten years apart, I was finally able to be reunited with a dear friend of mine. Regardless of the time gap, we hit it off well like peanut butter and strawberry jam, held together by the memories which enclosed us like breads do. We reminisced about the time when we baked wholemeal yoghurt scones served with home made plum jam and butter and happily ate it while playing in the tree house. We laughed at a particular incident which happened when we made pikletes, of how I accidentally tipped over a whole bottle of chocolate sauce all over the carpet (which the cat helped clean up).

While I learnt many European baking recipes from her Grandmother, egg tarts is a dessert commonly found in East Asian countries. Egg tarts were first introduced in Hong Kong and are believed to be an adaption of English custard tarts. This was possibly due to the interaction between Canton and Britain, when Hong Kong used to be a part of the British colony.

There are two variations of pastry which egg tarts are made from. That is, shortcrust and puff pastry. Most of the egg tarts served in yum cha restaurants are made from puff pastry. However, in Taiwanese bakeries they have a shortcrust pastry base. Egg tarts are filled with a heavily egg based pudding that is more solid and less creamy than traditional English custard tarts. They are best served hot and goes well with any dessert toppings or tastes delicious simply by itself.

Pastry:

Ingredients:

• 120g unsalted butter
• 50g white sugar
• 2 tsp cheese powder
• 2 tsp milk powder
• 30g beaten egg
• 190g sifted all purpose flour

Method:

1. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add in the cheese powder and milk powder. Be careful not to over mix.
2. Add the beaten egg and sifted flour into the pastry batter and mix until thoroughly combined.
3. Sprinkle high grade flour on to a flat surface and knead the pastry batter until smooth. A good technique is to use the rolling pin to flatten the dough into an oval shape, then fold it into thirds and roll it again. Repeat the rolling and folding process until the dough looks glossy and has elasticity. 
4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place aside into the fridge for 25-30 minutes. 

Egg Pudding:

Ingredients: 

• 200g egg
• 50g egg yolk 
• 30g milk powder
• 250g water
• 125g sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence 
• 50g fresh whipping cream

Method:

1. Beat the egg and egg yolk together in a sauce pan. 
2. Gradually add the milk powder, water and sugar slowly into the egg mixture. Mix until combined. If the ingredients are added too quickly, the pudding will turn hard. 
3. Heat the pudding mixture in low heat on a stove until warm.
4. Pour the heated pudding mixture into a bowl through a strainer to remove any excess egg white.
5. Mix the fresh whipping cream and vanilla essence together in another bowl over a bowl of ice water. 
6. Add the cream mixture into the pudding batter in thirds, use a spatula to mix together until the texture is smooth and removed of any lumps. 

Egg Tart: 

Ingredients/Equipment:

• Shortcrust pastry
• Egg pudding
• Individual tart tins 

Method: 

1. Mold the pastry into a long cylinder and cut into even pieces. Weigh each piece according to these measurements depending on the size of the tart tin.
   Small = 15g
   Medium = 20g
   Large = 25g
2. Roll each piece into a round ball and lightly dust with flour. Press into the tin and shape it by pinching the sides up with the edge slightly sticking out. 
3. Pour in the warm pudding mixture until 3/4 full. 
4. Bake the egg tarts on an oven tray at 210°c for 15-20 minutes.