Like Lemon Tarts

My little sister (a.k.a my photographer) absolutely loves zesty lemon cakes and lemon tarts. So far I have only baked a lemon chiffon cake which she said could use more lemons.

So I attempted to tweak this custard tart recipe by adding a bit of zest to it. Instead of the usual vanilla essence, I added lemon essence. I doubled the dosage too.

Yet she said it wasn't tangy enough! Next time I'm going to add lemon juice to the filling and maybe some lemon rind to the tart. You'll find the recipe here.

Egg Egg EGG Tarts

I love love LOVE egg tarts. When I tried one from a Taiwanese KFC store, it was so good...yes, who would have thought KFC would have such a sweet treat as these. So I searched for a recipe, simple, fast, and easy that would re-create the moment and the taste of that egg tart from KFC. 

When I stumbled across this recipe, it seemed like exactly what I needed, well, wanted. It seemed simple enough, easy enough and fast, not like fast-food fast but you know, it didn't take too long to make. I had faith in this recipe as my friend had also tried it.

These little treats were even better than what I expected and I had to take a closer look at them to remember what I had that day in KFC, but I have better memories now of a personalized egg tart. Even my mom loved this recipe, and she didn't stop at one and neither did any of my siblings as a matter of fact. You can tell what is a good bake and what isn't, this was an exceptionally good bake.

Cantonese Egg Tarts

Makes 12

Ingredients:

tart

225 grams plain flour 

125 grams butter softened

55 grams icing sugar

1 egg whisked

dash of vanilla

custard

3 eggs

110 grams caster sugar

225 grams hot water

85 grams evaporated milk (I used fresh whole milk instead)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Directions:

tart...

1. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and icing sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy.
2. Add in the whisked egg bit by bit while continuing with the beating of the mixture.
3. Add in the the dash of vanilla essence while continuing with the beating of mixture.
4. Sift the plain flour into the mixture and knead, slowly incorporating everything.
5. Roll out to 1/2 cm thick dough and cut out circles. Mold these into individual tart tins or a muffin baking tray.
6. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

custard...

1. Add the sugar and hot water together and mix until sugar is fully dissolved. 
2. Whisk the egg with the milk in a separate bowl, and then pour this into the mixture while stirring the sugar water mix so that the egg does not become cooked.
3. Pour the mixture through a strainer once or twice.
4. Pour these into the molds and divide evenly among the 12 or so tarts.
5. Bake the egg tarts at 180 degrees Celsius now for 15 minutes. If the custard starts to burn during that period, open the oven door slightly (10 cm opening) to allow heat to escape. Continue to bake the tarts another 10-15 minutes with the oven door slightly opened to ensure the custard is baked well (or else you'll have little egg-y volcanoes later).
6. Allow to cool and serve warmed or cold, both ways taste yummy to me :P

Recipe's original baker:  http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2009/03/cantonese-egg-tarts-recipe.html

Seasonal Strawberry Sensation

When strawberries came out this winter/spring period, I had to get some for this recipe. This is one of my all time favorite recipes that I had to bake for my friends and family to enjoy. I mean, strawberries alone are de-li-cious, but add them onto a layer of crispy delicate puff pastry and a mouthful of vanilla custard cream and you'll be speechless. 

Once, I served them up to fellow colleagues and the boss was meant to make a farewell speech, instead he had a strawberry tart in his mouth and another in his hand. Well, you know what I mean...serve up a plate of these and there will be none left at the end of the session. I mean it! 

You can also substitute other seasonal fruits to decorate the top of the tarts. I've used canned mixed tropical fruits before and I've see kiwis, peaches and mangoes go on top of the tarts. So feel free to be creative and explore other flavor combinations, as well as personalizing the way the fruits go on top.

Strawberry Custard Tarts


Ingredients:
tart...
3 sheets of puff pastry (defrosted)
1 punnett of strawberries 250g
 
custard cream...
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs (whisked)
2 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1  1/2 cup whole milk
 
Directions:


tart...

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. 
2. Then take and divide each sheet of puff pastry into 6 equal rectangle (3x6). Mold each individual rectangle pastry into a muffin tin tray.
3. Put into oven to bake for about 20-30 minutes or until golden.

custard cream...

1. While the tart shells are baking, prepare custard cream by whisking egg and sugar until sugar dissolves. 
2. Then add flour in and whisk until slightly paler.
3. Warm the milk until until its about to boil. Add the egg mixture slowly, stirring continuously at medium heat now for a few minutes until mixture thickens (be careful not to burn it, adjust heat when necessary) then turn off heat. Stir in the vanilla essence. Let it cool. 
4. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
5. When puff molds are cool, remove them from the tray. 
6. Just before serving, spoon the custard cream into the tarts. Slice the strawberries as you desire, decorate and personalize the tarts. Enjoy (: