Hongkong Style Egg Tarts

These Egg Tarts were first introduced in Hongkong and are popular in most Asian countries.  They can be found in bakeries and dim sum restaurants.  These are my favourite and they taste really good!

Crust Ingredients (yields about 24 tarts):
125 g soft butter
60 g castor sugar
1 egg, to be lightly beaten
230 g plain flour, to be sieved

Filling Ingredients:
80 g castor sugar
150 ml hot or warm water
100 ml evaporated milk
2 eggs, to be lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (liquid)

Method:
Whisk butter and sugar together until creamy.  Add in beaten egg and mix well on low speed.  Then, add in sieved flour and knead into a pliable dough.

Roll out dough to a thickness of 0.5 cm thickness.  By using a tart tin, cut out dough.  Place dough in tart tin and lightly press dough from centre outwards to line the whole tart tin.  Repeat until all cake tins are lined with dough.

Dissolve sugar in hot or warm water and leave aside to cool down.  In a small bowl, whisk egg and evaporated milk together until well combined.  Add in the sugar/water mixture and vanilla essence. Mix thoroughly.  Pour mixture through a sieve into a small jug.

Arrange the tart tins on a baking tray and pour custard filling into each of them.  Place baking tray on the lowest rack in a preheated oven at 200° C (conventional - without fan).  Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.

It is important to stay by the oven and keep an eye on the tarts.  When the custard filling starts to get puffed up, pull the oven door open and leave the door about 6 cm ajar.

Reduce oven heat to 180° C and bake further for another 10 minutes or until the custard is set. Check by inserting a thin toothpick into the custard.  If it comes out clean or able to stand on its own, the egg tarts are ready. If not, bake further for another 5 minutes.

Once ready, leave to cool.  Remove egg tarts from their tins and place each tart in a baking case before serving.

Happy Baking!