Chinese Egg Custard Dan Tarts
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 45 minutes with 3.5 hours resting time (in intervals)
Cooking time: 45 minutes
For pastry:
Water dough
- 150g/5ozs. plain all purpose flour
- 60g/2.1oz. butter
- 40g/1.4ozs. sugar
- 75ml/2.7flozs water
Oil Dough
- 150g/5ozs. plain all purpose flour
- 100g/3.5ozs. butter
- 135g/4.8ozs. lard
For Egg Custard
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 2/3 cup caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornflour or fine cornstarch
- 300ml/10.6flozs. milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Step 1 - In a food processor, blend the flour, butter and sugar together. Then add water and process until it starts to form a dough. Knead on a surface and roll out between two sheets of parchment to form a largish rectangle that can fit on a baking tray.
Step 2 - In the same processor (no need to wash it), process the flour, butter and lard until you get a sticky dough. Cut out some cling wrap or parchment and spread the mixture out to roughly the same size as the water dough. Place both doughs (I place one on top of another) in the fridge for 2 hours or even overnight.
Step 3 - Take the water dough and place the oil dough on top removing the cling wrap. Allow it to soften a little (it doesn't take long, a few minutes will do) and then fold over like a business envelope. Add more flour as it is quite sticky and then use a rolling pin to flatten out to a rectangle and then repeat two more times.
Step 4 - The next time turn the dough the opposite way and repeat with the rolling and folding. Then cover and allow to rest in the fridge for an hour.
Step 5 - Meanwhile make the custard and allow it to cool. Whisk the eggs, yolk and caster sugar together with the cornflour. Heat the milk until almost boiling and pour in the egg mixture. Allow to thicken stirring with a flat bottomed spatula. Add in vanilla.
Step 6 - Line two 12 cavity muffin trays with papers. Roll out the dough and cut circles out (I used a fluted cutter). Place in the lines and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 220C/440F.
Step 7 - Spoon in the custard and bake for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 120C/248F and bake for 17 minutes.