Rich Egg Custard Tarts Recipes

Steps:

• Make the puff pastry: Cut the butter into 3/4 cup flour in a medium bowl with a fork, then knead with your hands until the dough comes together. Transfer the "oil dough" to a piece of plastic wrap and pat into a 7 1/2-inch square; wrap in the plastic and refrigerate 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mix the egg, water and remaining 3/4 cup flour in a separate bowl, then knead with your hands until the dough comes together, adding more flour as needed if the dough is too sticky. Transfer the "water dough" to a piece of plastic wrap; wrap in the plastic and refrigerate 20 minutes.
• Unwrap the "water dough" and roll out into an 11-inch square on a lightly floured surface. Place the "oil dough" square on top and turn it so that it looks like a diamond. Fold the sides of the "water dough" over the "oil dough" to enclose completely.
• Roll out the folded dough into an 11-inch square and mark it into thirds. Fold in the outer thirds over the center third, like a letter. Roll out the folded dough into a large square again. Repeat twice (folding like a letter, then rolling into a square), refrigerating the dough as needed if it becomes too soft.
• Mark the square of dough into fourths. Fold the outer fourths into the center, then fold in half like a book and roll out again. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 20 minutes.
• Butter 12 small (2 1/2- to 2 3/4-inch-diameter) fluted tart pans. Unwrap the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out circles with a round cutter (about 1/4 inch larger than your tart pans). Refrigerate 20 minutes, then press the dough into the tart pans. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Make the egg custard: Heat the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Whisk the eggs into the cooled sugar syrup, then stir in the evaporated milk, vanilla and salt. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup.
• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Arrange the tart pans on a baking sheet. Divide the custard among the pans, filling each about three-quarters full. (Do not overfill or the tarts could overflow; you may not use all of the custard.)
• Bake until the crusts are golden and the filling puffs slightly, about 45 minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes in the pans, then carefully tap the bottoms to remove the tarts and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• For the pastry, in a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, and salt. Then add softened butter. Bring the mixture together with your hands, careful not to knead the pastry dough too much or you will make the pastry tough.
• Whisk the egg yolks and add the 2 tablespoons of beaten yolk to the flour mixture. Bring together until smooth. If the dough is too sticky, coating your hands with flour will help. Cover with plastic wrap and then refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until the dough is firm.
• To make the custard filling, melt sugar and salt with hot water. Mix until dissolved then let cool.
• Add the rest of the beaten egg yolk. Stir in sugar water and also evaporated milk (if adding vanilla, add now). Stir and combine everything well.
• Strain the filling to ensure no lumps. Chill in the refrigerator.
• Preheat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C.)
• Take the dough out and divide into 16 equal portions. Spray the tart pan with a light coating of oil. Take one portion of your dough and roll it into a ball and place in your tart shell. Press the shell into the pan with your fingers. Try to make the wrapper uniform in thickness and avoid a thick bottom. Repeat to finish all.
• Pour the custard filling into the shells until it is about 80% full. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the surface becomes golden brown and a toothpick can stand in the egg tart.
• Cool down for several minutes and then take the egg tarts out of the pan. Serve while still warm.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease the bottom of a deep-dish pie plate.
• Beat butter, sugar, and egg in a bowl until creamy. Blend in flour to form a dough, using your hands to knead it together at the end.
• Roll pastry out on a lightly floured surface and place into the prepared pie plate so it covers the bottom and the sides.
• Beat eggs and sugar in a bowl using an electric mixer. Beat in vanilla extract. Gradually stir in cold milk until fully incorporated. Pour custard mixture over the pastry base and sprinkle with nutmeg.
• Bake in the preheated oven until custard is set and a sharp knife inserted near the centre comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before serving, about 1 hour.

Steps:

• For the tart crust: Combine the flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl and whisk together. Add the butter and coconut oil and rub between your fingers until nickel-size flakes of fat are evenly dispersed into the flour. Add the cold water and gently mix into a shaggy mass. Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap, press together into a disc, wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Spray a muffin tin with 2 1/2-inch-diameter cavities with cooking spray. On a lightly floured countertop, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut rounds with a 3 1/2-inch cutter or bowl. Press the rounds into the greased muffin tin and refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• For the filling: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• While the crust is chilling, bring the sugar, salt and 1/3 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Let cool to warmish. In a measuring cup (or something with a spout), beat together the whole eggs and yolk. Add the warm sugar syrup and whisk to combine. Add the cream and almond extract and whisk to combine. Strain the filling through a mesh sieve.
• Pour the filling into the prepared shells (they should be about 85% filled). Bake until the filling has puffed up and set and the crust is golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing from the muffin tin and eating. The egg puff will fall, but it's ok. These will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

Steps:

• Tart Pastry: Process flour, lard and margarine in food processor with the on/off motion until lard and margarine are pea sized.
• Beat egg yolk and ice water in small cup with fork.
• Remove food processor cover and pour water mixture over flour mixture.
• Secure cover; process with on/off motion several times until mixture comes together.
• Turn out onto lightly floured surface.
• Shape into ball then flatten into disc shape.
• Wrap in plastic wrap.
• Chill at least 1 hour.
• Roll out pastry on lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness.
• Cut into 3 1/2 inch circles with floured cutter.
• Line tart or muffin pan with circles.
• Custard: Stir sugar and custard powder in small saucepan.
• Slowly add water until smooth.
• Heat and stir on medium until just starting to boil and sugar is dissolved.
• Pour into small bowl.
• Cool, stirring several times.
• Stir in cream and food colouring.
• Beat each egg individually in a small cup with fork.
• Stir into custard mixture, 1 at a time.
• Fill tart shells to within 1/4 inch of top.
• Bake on bottom rack in 300 degree F (150 degree C) oven for about 45 minutes until knife inserted in centre of tart comes out clean and custard is set.
• Let stand in pan for 10 minutes before removing tarts.
• Serve warm.

Steps:

• First, make the pastry. Melt the butter in a saucepan until foaming, then sizzle until it turns nut-brown. Pour off the fat into a bowl, leaving the sediment in the pan to be discarded. Leave the fat to cool, then chill until it hardens again. Combine the flour, icing sugar and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl. When the fat has hardened, cut it into chunks and rub it into the flour mixture until crumbly. Stir in the egg yolk and 1 tsp cold water, and bring it together into a dough. Flatten into a disc, then cover and chill for at least 30 mins. Can be made up to two days ahead. (The pastry can also be made with regular butter.)
• Roll the chilled pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a roughly 5mm thickness, then lift into a 20cm tart tin. Press the pastry into the base and up the side using a small piece of excess floured pastry. Leave some overhanging the rim. Chill for at least 30 mins, or freeze for 10 mins. Reserve any excess pastry.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line the pastry case with baking parchment and fill with baking beans or uncooked rice. Put on a baking tray and bake for 15 mins. Remove the parchment and beans and bake for 15-20 mins more until biscuity.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Tip the cream and vanilla into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir (don't whisk) the egg yolks and sugar together in a heatproof bowl. Slowly drizzle the hot cream over the egg yolk mixture, stirring continuously (not whisking) until everything is incorporated. Sieve the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a jug, then spoon off any froth.
• Remove the baked tart case from the oven, and reduce the temperature to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Trim the excess pastry from the case, and mend any cracks with the reserved raw pastry. With the tart case on the baking tray, slide it halfway back into the oven, then carefully pour in the filling to the top of the case. Finely grate over at least half a nutmeg. Gently slide the tray fully into the oven and bake for 40 mins, or until just set with a very slight wobble. Leave to cool completely in the tin, then remove from the case and cut into slices.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Take a sheet of shortcrust pastry and use a 10cm cookie cutter to cut 12 circles into the pastry. Press each circle into the holes of a cupcake tray. Scrunch up squares of baking paper, then use to line each of the pastry cases. Fill each with baking beans or uncooked rice, pressing them in a little, and bake for 10 mins. Remove the beans/rice and the baking paper and bake for 5 mins more, until the base is starting to colour slightly. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 140C/120C fan/gas 1.
• Bring the cream, milk, vanilla bean paste and a small grating of nutmeg to the boil. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale, then pour the hot milk and cream over, beating as you go. Strain custard into a jug, allow to settle for a few mins, then skim off any froth.
• Pour the custard into each of the tart cases, filling them as high as you can. Grate over a little more nutmeg on each, then carefully place back into the oven and bake for 15-20 mins, until the tarts look set with a slight wobble. Remove and cool, serve with a little more nutmeg freshly grated over the top.

Steps:

• Tip the flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Slowly add around 150ml very cold water, or just enough so that you have a soft dough that picks up all the crumbs from the outside of the bowl, but isn't too sticky to handle.
• Wrap the dough in cling film and chill while you coarsely grate the butter. Roll the dough out onto a floured work surface to a 30 x 40cm rectangle, then sprinkle the surface with half the grated butter to form an even layer. Don't worry if the butter clumps together, just make sure the pieces are evenly distributed. With the shorter edge facing you, fold the top third of the dough towards you to the centre and the bottom third up over it. Give the dough a quarter turn, then roll out to the same size as before, sprinkle with the rest of the butter and repeat. Wrap the dough tightly in cling film and chill for 30 mins while you make the filling.
• Put the egg yolks and cornflour in a large heatproof mixing bowl and whisk in the sugar until pale and thick. Split the vanilla pod in half along the length and scrape out the seeds. Put the seeds in a medium-sized saucepan, along with the empty pod, the cinnamon stick and the lemon zest. Pour the milk and cream over the aromatics, stir and heat very gently until only just simmering. Pour the hot mixture over the egg yolks and whisk well. Pour the custard back into the pan and warm through for 2-3 mins or until thickened slightly to a consistency similar to double cream. Strain the custard through a sieve into a large jug and set aside, covered with cling film.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Grease a 12-hole muffin tin with butter. Take your pastry out of the fridge and roll it flat to 40 x 20cm. Starting at the longest side, roll it up tightly to make a long roll of pastry. Trim the ends, then cut into 12 pieces, and turn them cut-side up on the work surface, so the spiral is facing upwards. Carefully flatten them out until they are big enough to line the holes in the muffin tin, trying not to skew the spiral shape too much. Press into the tins, then carefully pour in the custard mixture, filling each tart almost to the top.
• Bake for 30 mins or until the pastry is cooked through and the custard is just starting to puff up but not balloon.
• Remove from the oven and allow them to cool and sink gently back into shape. Serve cold with coffee.