Cantonese Egg Tarts II 港式蛋挞

Over the years, I've made egg tarts on few occasions. The result mostly looked rough and rustic but this time these tarts look  like the real deal! That said, am still trying to achieve a melt in the mouth lighter crust. Mine have slight chewy tart shell. I'll have to work on my short crust pastry technique. However, the filling is exactly what I'm looking for.

Cantonese Egg Tarts

serves : 12-15 tarts

I have halved the recipe from Guai Shu Shu

Ingredients

For tart shells 

1 egg (lightly beaten) 

220 grams of plain flour (sifted) 

40 grams of icing sugar (sifted) 

100 grams of chilled butter (cut into cubes) 

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence (optional) 

For egg custard filling   

220 grams of fresh milk 

75 grams of castor sugar 

2 eggs 

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence (optional) 

Pre-heat the oven to 180°c

In a big mixing bowl, put butter cubes and sifted plain flour together. Use the finger tips to rub the butter cubes and flours together until it become crumby. Add in sifted icing sugars and continue to rub until well mix.

Add lightly beaten eggs and vanilla essence, mix slowly until it become a dough. Put it in the fridge to chill for 20-30 minutes. Note that if you are able to handle soft dough, you can by pass this step. Take the dough from the fridge and use a rolling pin to roll it into a flat sheet with about 0.5 cm thickness.

Use a round cutter to cut about the size of the mould.  Note that this step is optional and will help you to roughly gauge the amount of dough required and you still need to adjust the quantity of dough as you progress.  Use your hand to press the dough against the sides and make it as even as possible. Use a knife or anything sharp to cut off the sides. If preferred, use a fork to lightly make some holes to let any trapped air to escape.  However, this step of making hole is optional. Set aside for later use.

For crispier crust, bake the tart shell in the pre-heated oven of 180 degree Celsius for 10 minutes. However, this step is also optional. 

For filling :-
In a microwavable bowl or mug, heat the milk until boiling hot (if you do not have a microwave oven, just heat the milk over the stove). Set aside for the next step. 

In a big mixing bowl, put egg, sugar and vanilla essence. Use a hand whisk to beat until well mixed. Pour the hot milk to the mixture and use a sift to sieve the custard mixture. 

Pour the custard mixture to the pre-baked tart shells. 
  
Bake the egg tarts in the pre-heated oven of 180˙c for 10-15 minutes. Once the tarts starts to puff up a bit, open the oven door, leave the door ajar and continue to bake the tarts for another 5 –8 minutes. A tart is considered as baked when a toothpick inserted in the centre of the tart, the toothpick stands upright. The tarts is best served warm when the custard is still soft and crust crispy.

Eclaire with pastry cream & caramelised sugar

I made a mistake in the photo as it should have read "profiterole". Anyway, majority of the choux dough I did piped the Éclair shape but not photographed.
 
Couldn't believe that this is only the second time I've baked them as last time I did was for my FIL's name day , five years ago! There are so easy to do as dessert and feels lighter especially in the summer heat.
 

Basic Éclair 
recipe from http://kitchenexperiments.net/2007/03/eclairs-cream-puffs-profiteroles-shucream-etc.html
 
Choux Pastry:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs

Method:
Preheat oven to 425˙F
1. Bring water and butter to a rolling boil and then throw (literally, but do it safely) your flour in. Turn the heat down.
2. Start stirring vigorously until a dough is form.
3. While the dough is still hot, beat in one egg at a time using a wooden spoon (it’s easier if you have a stand mixer), making sure that the dough and the egg is incorporated thoroughly.
4. Once that’s done, you will have a soft dough and that’s your choux pastry.
5. You can take a tablespoon and just scoop a dollop on a tray lined with baking sheets OR you can put it in a piping bag and pipe it into a nice round swirls or fingerlings.
6. Pop it into the oven for 25 minutes and voila, you have your creampuffs/eclairs.

 
Notes
Add a packet (1x10g) vanilla sugar to the orig. recipe
I did the dough few days in advance and freeze it in freeze-safe bag. Thaw the dough in the fridge a day ahead and leave in out in room-temperature 30 mins. - 1 hour before you want to bake them as per recipe above. It may be still cold but you can start piping the dough onto the baking dish.
Pastry cream - I've used left over instant pastry cream (the reason why I decided to bake this the first place)
Chocolate glaze - just melt chocolate with some milk in the microwave. I microwave for 30 seconds. Let it sit a bit in the micro. and take it out and mix until glossy.
Caramelised sugar - also microwave !! I used this method with success.
 (extracted in case, I loose the link later)

• Place 1 cup sugar in a 2-cup Pyrex glass bowl. Add ¼ cup water to the sugar and mix. Place the bowl in a microwave and set it on high/800watts/100%.

• The sugar will take approximately 50secs to 3mins to caramelize depending on how dark and brittle you want your caramel to be - the longer you cook the darker the caramel gets.

• A quick tip would be to check on the sugar after 30sec and again after every 20 secs. The caramel continues to cook even after removing from the microwave, hence remove the caramel from the microwave when the sugar is one shade lighter than the desired color. 

• Transfer the caramel to another bowl immediately to halt the cooking and prevent the caramel from burning and getting bitter.

Cantonese egg tarts { 蛋挞 }

Egg Tarts is a popular dessert amongst the Cantonese community. The tart shell should be flaky and light while the egg custard silky smooth. As you can see from mine, it is neither :D. I'm still in the process of refining my technique. The reason I'm posting here is to note down the recipes that I've followed.
 
Cantonese Egg Tart { 蛋挞 }
For the tart shells, recipe from Anncoo Journal

125g Cold butter - cut to cubes

120g Icing sugar, sifted

1 Egg

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

320g Plain flour - sifted

• Cream butter and icing until light and fluffy. Add in egg and mix well.
• Pour in flour and mix for few seconds, stop machine.
• Use a rubber spatula to fold the flour mixture into a soft dough.
• Put soft dough in a plastic bag and chill in the fridge for 30 mins or freezer for 20 mins.
• Divide the pastry into 15 small balls and evenly press into 15 tart moulds. If you find the pastry is too soft and sticky, just return it to the fridge to harden a little.
• Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork to allow steam to escape as the shell bakes.
• Bake in preheated oven at 180C for 10 minutes or until lightly brown. Remove from oven and leave to cool.

For the filling , recipe from Yummy Bakes
200g boiling water

150g sugar

5 eggs

250g fresh milk

1. Dissolve sugar in boiling water, let it cool, add egg and fresh milk.  Do not beat, just stir and mix.
2. Strain the mixture and pour into the pre-baked tart shells  Bake at 180C for 20 mins or until cooked.

Steamed savoury egg custard

Steamed eggs custard regularly appear on my mom's diner table; however, I have never have the urge to make one since moving out. Then I stumbled upon this recipe ; which looks so simple and manageable plus promises a smooth silky finish, so I say why not make it?
Verdict : wow, so smooooth plus an extremely easy recipe! The most attention you need is making sure the water do not get too hot. That only takes up 15 mins. of your time.
Go here for the recipe at The Kitchn

Korean-Style Steamed Eggs (Gyeran Jjim)

Serves 1-2

2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water, plus more for filling pot
1/2 scallion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Combine the eggs, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a heat-safe ceramic bowl, such as a ramekin or small ddukbaegi. Whisk until well combined and foamy.
Place the bowl in a pot. Fill the pot with hot (not boiling) water to come halfway up the sides of the bowl. Cover the pot, preferably with a clear glass lid so you can easily watch the water and eggs. Cook over low-medium heat for 12 minutes, making sure the water stays at a gentle simmer.
Sprinkle the scallions and sesame seeds on top of the eggs and continue to cook for about 3 minutes or until the eggs are set. They should be firm but jiggly.
Carefully lift the bowl from the pot and serve.
Some variations:
• Add chopped vegetables like red bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, or onions to the egg and water mixture
• Add gochugaru (red pepper) along with the scallions and sesame seeds
• Substitute brined baby shrimp, fish sauce, or soy sauce for salt
• Substitute stock for water
 

Hungarian Magic Cake { Tejes Pite }

credit: puszta.com

When I saw the photo above at the mentioned site, I knew I have to make this dessert. It looked delicious plus I haven't tasted one before :) Another reason I like this recipe is that the ingredients could be easily available in one's pantry.
So, yesterday I woke up early morning (4.30am) to make this custard cake in order for it to cool in time to bring along with us when we visit my M&FIL.
The recipe has been scaled down based on 2 eggs instead of five. Just do simple math to get the appropriate portion of each ingredients. Also, the baking time needs to be shorten in view of lesser liquid involved.
Verdict
It was indeed an easy dessert to whip up but with satisfying result. In fact, my MIL loved it! She told us that it brought back some childhood memories when her mom used to bake it for her. We found out that she doesn't have the recipe (No wonder she hasn't baked this for us!) So, I'll be printing the Hungarian version of this recipe for her to try out.
 

Tejes Pite
Puszta.com 

Ingredients:
5 egg yolks
30 g vanilla sugar
150 g sugar
100 g margarine
250 g flour
1 liter milk
5 egg whites
salt
zest of 1 lemon
margarine to grease baking pan
breadcrumbs

Method:

In a large bowl mix egg yolks, vanilla sugar, sugar, pinch of salt. Add margarine and the lemon zest. Add flour and milk gradually to sugar mixture, beating to a thin smooth batter.
Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt, until stiff peaks form, then add it carefully to the pancake dough.
Coat the bottom of a 26 cm baking pan with margarine, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and pour the dough into it. Sprinkle the top with small pieces of margarine. Put into a cold oven, then turn on the heat to 150 ºC and bake it for 1 hour.
When the pie is done, cool for a few minutes, then cut into 8-10 bars. Serve it with apricot jam, but it tastes delicious by itself as well.

Tips:

• Use hand mixer to get a smooth batter.
• Do not add baking powder or baking soda.
• Cool the egg whites before beating.
• Add a pinch of salt or a few drops of lemon juice to the egg whites, to make it easier to beat.
• Mix only half of the beaten egg whites to the dough, then carefully fold in the other half, without breaking it up much. 
  

Custard Cake

I knew baking this perfect custard cake would be a minor challenge with my novice baking skills. Sure enough the egg white didn't turn out right! Hence, when pouring the cake mixture on to the custard mix, the cake mixture sank right to the bottom... I proceeded to baking it nonetheless.
After 25 minutes (shorter time due to reducing of custard topping), the cake came out nice and brown. It appeared ok after all ! We enjoyed this cake very much and sure that it will be a regular for special occasions :)
Thanks Pinoy Cook for sharing!