Chinese egg tarts (蛋塔)

We are slowly getting settled in our new house. We have one week before we close on the old house and a lot of boxes still need to be moved over. It'll get done - I hope.

Our daughter seems to be doing well in her new environment, and one thing that definitely hasn't changed is her love of reading. Her current favorite book is a collection of Curious George stories (she particularly like "Curious George Goes Camping," where a "sunk" [Addison terminology for 'skunk'] sprays George). Another book she enjoys is a book that I picked up in Brooklyn a few years back. I was pregnant with her at the time and found this fabulous children's book called Yum Yum Dim Sum. The story highlights several dim sum dishes, including many of the ones I love to enjoy with my family.

Although the book is in English, I often read it to Addison in Mandarin Chinese so she can continue to become bilingual. She knows how to say the dishes, and she even surprised my parents one day when she randomly said "oolong tea" in Chinese. One of the dim sum plates that is mentioned in the story is Chinese egg tarts, or 蛋塔 (pronounced "dan tah"). I have loved these tarts for as long as I can remember and buy them at Chinese bakeries whenever I visit one (unfortunately for me, the closest quality bakery is a good 2 hours away).

My mom used to make these egg tarts when I was little, and I would maniacally eat them up like candy. The flaky buttery crust holds the silky smooth egg custard. The texture is almost like creme brulee, but of course, Asian style!

I found that the crust was way too thin for 20 tarts, so I ended up with 19 smaller tarts (using regular sized muffin tins). I also had too much filling, so I don't know where I went wrong. I'd suggest cutting the filling down by 1/3 or 1/2 so you don't have too much left over. I did not make the changes in the recipe below.

Ingredients

Filling:

• 1.5 cups + 2 tablespoons milk
• 6 large eggs
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1 pinch of salt

Crust:

• 1.5 cups flour
• 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 2/3 cups butter, softened and cubed
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Filling:

Pour all custard ingredients into a pot or saucepan and warm over low heat.
 

Whisk the egg custard in one direction to avoid making air bubbles and continue until the sugar has dissolved.
 

Pour custard through a strainer to get rid of any solid or cooked parts of the eggs. Cool and set aside.
 

After the custard has cooled, skim off foam or solid parts. The filling should be silky and yellow.
 

Crust:
Sift the flour and powdered sugar into a mixing bowl.
 

Add in the butter, egg, and salt. Using a mixer (or do it by hand like I did), mix on the lowest speed.
 

Once the dough comes together, roll it out into a log on a floured surface and cut into 20 pieces.

Roll the dough into a ball and slightly flatten it with your palm.
 

Place the dough in muffins (or tart pans) and use your thumb or knuckles to press and shape the walls.

Assembly:
Pour the custard into the tart shells (80% full).

Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes or until the the egg custard is jiggly (like Jello) if you give the pan a shake.
 

Cool for 30 minutes and gently lift them out with a butter knife.

Yield: 20 egg tarts (I got 19)

Source: anjelikuh*