Egg Tarts in Muffin Tray

Not the typical wavy edge you see in egg tarts ...

This came as a surprise, to nobody else but me. 

Me ?? – Making egg tarts??

Egg tart is on my ‘No Eat” list, but that’s not important, is it?  My opinion and preference are irrelevant here. 

So, that was the plan; to make egg tarts over the weekends.  I spent days searching for the molds.  I mean not that it’s difficult to find, just that it’s difficult to find MY kind of molds.

So what is MY kind of molds?

No plastics.

No silicon.

No tin.

No (Teflon) non-stick.

Preferably not aluminum.

Can do with stainless steel.

Definitely a yes for cast iron.

Definitely a yes for Pyrex glass.

Definitely a yes for stoneware, ceramic and alike.

Ok, I can consider upgrading Teflon non-stick to ‘preferably not’.

But still, sounds like mission impossible right?

I was at Orchard Road.  You might think: Egg tart molds? - Of all places but Orchard Road??  Along side with Louis Vuitton and Prada??  Ha, I can only say desperate situation calls for desperate measure.  So, I was in Takashimaya and I saw THE bread loaf tray.  I could literately feel my eyes brightened up.  So I asked the sales assistant for the price. 

“SGD 278.” She said.

“You must be kidding!!” I broke out so fast so naturally, impossible to swallow my words before it was too late.

She walked away discreetly, in half a minute.  I am not sure if she felt insulted by my exclamation, but I surely was.  “You are such a cheapo!!” I mocked at myself.  And you think that was embarrassing enough, ha ha ... There was this much more expensive Dutch oven; a couple bought it right in front of my eyes!!!

Then I was at Tangs, found something worth going into my potential to-have list – stainless steel bread loaf pan.  It’s kind of small, biggest is about 200g or so. Can do la, buy two lor … But I was still thinking of that killer cast iron pan at Takashimaya … I should have taken a picture and post it here...

So, I came home empty handed.  The egg tarts recipe was screaming at me.

In the end, I baked my egg tarts in a 12-cup muffin tray.  This was not too much a make-do, really.  The ultimate I came across, was a blogger baking cheese cake without springform pan!!!! If you are reading this, please identify yourself … ha ha.  Can you imagine pressing the base in a round tray? – I think that’s still not so bad, but removing the cheese cake from the tray?? – Simply courageous.

I got my recipe from Christine.  As usual, I made some changes.  First, I replaced with small amount of potato flour for a lighter crust.  Then, I cut down the sugar amount in the custard, and it was still too sweet.

So here is my version:

Ingredients:
Crust:
175g plain flour
50g potato flour
125g butter
55g icing sugar
1 egg, whisked
a dash of vanilla extract

Custard:
3 eggs
100g caster sugar (can be reduced further)
225g hot water
85g evaporated milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

I used up only half the custard for 12 tarts, yet the tarts turned out proportionate; crust is not noticeably thick, custard filled up to the rim; two even overflew.  So why ???

Then my husband stepped in to solve the problem: “creme brulee sounds good!” So, I baked the remaining in little bowls.  Conclusion: custard is good for egg tart, but too firm as creme brulee.

How do the egg tarts taste? - Crust is good. Custard filling is good. That, are according to my darlings.  My daughter had one for breakfast, and took one to school.  So I guess they are nice.  If you asked me; I think they taste terrible.  I had a little bite involuntarily.  But hey, don’t take my words for it.  Egg tart is on my ‘No Eat’ list; in case you have forgotten.

It's a recipe much easier than I expected. 

My better half said: “You took five minute to prepare the dough but thirty to shape it.”

And I replied: “And one minute for you to chew it down.”

I have complete trust in his taste; I think my daughter got that from him.  So I have two food critics at home.

Oh, in case you are wondering about the selection criterion of my kitchen ware.  There is only one – healthy choice.  My mother-in-law said to me: “I have been using those all my life, why are you so picky?”  Er … what am I supposed to say? – Because I don’t use the same towel to dry my clean bowl and wipe the dinning table?? ... !!