Portuguese Egg Tart
I can’t remember when Portuguese egg tarts first came to Malaysia, but I do remember sampling some on a family trip to Macau way back in 1996. Portuguese egg tarts are recognizable from the uneven browning on the top of the egg custard in a flaky pastry, quite different from the smooth top that characterizes the normal egg tarts you find in dim sum joints.
My first impression was that egg tarts are hard to make. On the contrary, the recipe is simple, and if you can find pre-made pie crust mix, it’s super easy to make.
Crust:
1) 150g unsalted butter
2) 150g flour
3) 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4) A pinch of salt
Egg custard:
1) 4 egg yolks
2) 1/3 cup milk
3) 1/3 cup heavy cream
4) 1/4 cup sugar
5) few drops of vanilla extract
To make crust:
Sift flour and baking powder. Cut chilled butter into a few pieces, and mix into the flour. Continue breaking the butter into the flour until mixture looks like coarse lumps of grain. Press them together into a dough and put into the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.
To make egg custard:
Mix milk, heavy cream, sugar and egg yolk in a bowl with a spoon for a few minutes, then strain to get rid of any egg-y lumps. Add a few drops of vanilla extract and stir the concoction a bit.
Now to combine the two:
Take the chilled dough out, tear a ball of dough about the size of a golf ball, and roll out into a disc. Grease a muffin pan, and place the dough into the muffin cup, taking care to press out the folds and smoothen the rim. Repeat for all muffin cups.
Crust in muffin cups
Pour the egg custard into the muffin cup about 80% full.
Egg custard in muffin cup
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 deg. Celcius for 15-20 mins, or until the top browns.
Egg tarts all done
The top of the crust was a bit too brown when I took it out. Maybe I should thicken it a little next time.
Anyway, hubby liked it enough to polish 2 at once.
Another pastry recipe learned!
Tags: portuguese egg tart
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