Hong Kong Style Egg Tarts.

A little while ago, I made egg tarts with some friends.

Actually, it was more than "a little" while ago... it was over the Christmas break of 2010.

So I'm about three months late, but it's better late than never.

 We made these little tarts from scratch. Yup, mini pie shells and all.

Luckily, my friend, Trish, is a pie pro. She knows the in's and out's of pie stuff.

I, on the other hand, am not a pie pro. 

I like eating the bottom of pie crusts but making them is another story.

A disastrous story.

 

The recipe was fairly straight forward but straining the egg mixture got a little messy. 

I'm not surprised because I'm usually messy in the kitchen anyways. 

Recipe for Hong Kong Style Egg Tarts

1 cup confectioners' sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
1 dash vanilla extract

2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups water
9 eggs, beaten
1 dash vanilla extract
1 cup evaporated milk 

In a medium bowl, mix together the confectioners' sugar and flour. Mix in butter with a fork until it is in small crumbs. Stir in the egg and vanilla until the mixture forms a dough. The texture should be slightly moist. Add more butter if it is too dry, or more flour, if the dough seems greasy. Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and press the balls into tart molds so that it covers the bottom, and goes up higher than the sides. Use 2 fingers to shape the edge into an A shape.  

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Combine the white sugar and water in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook until the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Strain the eggs through a sieve, and whisk into the sugar mixture. Stir in the evaporated milk and vanilla. Strain the filling through a sieve, and fill the tart shells.  

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown, and the filling is puffed up a little bit.

 Recipe adapted from here.