Had a free sunday morning while Nick was at vball practice – looking for inspiration to bake something in my new oven…chatting with a friend who asks if I had made egg tarts before – answer is yes, but ages and ages ago.  Don’t recall the specific recipe so did some googling.  Tried to adapt from several people’s recipes.  Egg tarts are always a favourite with me – whenever I pass a chinese bakery, it’s always so tempting!  The best part of the egg tart is actually the shell – i’m not patient enough to make the puff pastry version, so I made the crumbly cookie version.  Guess you can also use the frozen pre-made ones – but where’s the fun in that?!

Posted the finished product on fb and several people asked how it was made – so thought I would post it here.

First step – pull out the tart trays I received as xmas gifts several years back, and assemble all the ingredients together

First step is to make the pastry as it needs 20 mins to chill in the fridge. Mix the butter, sugar, and flour together, add egg and vanilla last.   Get your hands in there!  (or use a food processor).  Wrap it up in saran wrap and set it in the fridge to chill.  Meanwhile…put your simple syrup (water and sugar) mixture on a small pot over medium to boil.  Set aside to cool.

After cleaning up the counter and washing some dishes, 20 mins should go by – time to make the shells!  Take a piece of dough and roll it into a ball.  Then flatten slightly with your hand.  Push it into the tin using thumbs while rotating the tin to spread the dough to the edges.

note – next time I do this, I will probably roll out the entire dough first, and “cut” a large circle and then place it into the tin to ensure evenness for the crust.

2nd note – the dough will start “melting” if you touch it too much, so try not to fuss with it too much.

This receipt makes exactly 12 tart shells.  Put it back into the fridge to firm up until it’s needed. (this can obviously be done in advance)

Next, in a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, and add in evaporated milk, sugar mixture, and vanilla.  whisk well.  Then put it through a sieve to avoid lumps and big chunks of egg whites.  almost done!  I had a small ladle that was left over from my wedding candy table, so I used that to pour the mixture onto the tart shells.

Pop it into oven at 425F for 20-25 mins.  The crust should be golden brown and egg custard look “wiggly”.

Finished product! now enjoy!

Tart Shell Ingredients:

• 140g of butter
• 1egg
• 55g icing sugar (will add less next time)
• 225g flour (will add more next time)
• Dash of vanilla