Easy Dessert

Cheat’s egg custard tart

Name: Cheat’s egg custard tart recipe
Yield: 12
Ingredients: Vegetable oil, for brushing; 2 sheets shortcrust pastry; 75g caster sugar; 2 eggs; 60ml condensed milk; 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

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by Rosheen Kaul and Joanna Hu

AUTHORS

Dec 01, 2022

“The egg custard tart made its way to Hong Kong from the nearby Portuguese colony of Macao and the Cantonese transformed it by adding more egg yolks and decreasing the sugar and dairy. The result is a delicate, eggy custard with only a gentle sweetness, encased in a flaky tart shell. Traditional Chinese puff pastry is incredibly difficult to make. Using ready-made shortcrust pastry is foolproof and puts a still-warm, freshly baked egg custard tart in easy reach.” – Rosheen Kaul

Vegetable oil, for brushing
2 sheets shortcrust pastry

Custard

1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup (60ml) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1.

For the custard, dissolve the sugar in the hot water in a saucepan over low heat, stirring to make a syrup. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, condensed milk and vanilla together to combine. While whisking continuously, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the egg mixture. Strain into a jug and allow to stand until the air bubbles dissipate. Set aside.
2.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Lightly brush a 12-hole muffin pan or 12 fluted individual tart pans with oil. Cut the pastry sheets into 12 even squares and press into the greased pans, trimming off any excess. Chill in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.
3.

Line the pastry shells with baking paper and fill with pastry weights or uncooked rice. Blind-bake for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the paper and weights and bake for another 3-4 minutes, until golden. Set aside to cool.
4.

Reduce the oven temperature to 140°C and divide the custard equally between the shells.
5.

Bake tarts on the lowest shelf of your oven for 20-25 minutes, until the filling is just set. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for about 15 minutes. Enjoy the custard tarts while they’re warm.