Egg Tart (Dan Tat)

My search for the perfect egg custard tart, or dan tat, has come to an end. I've been testing recipes for over a year. I've been playing with different recipes, and tweaking ones I thought were good. I have now come to a conclusion.

This recipe for egg tarts is exactly like the ones at a good dim sum place. It's flaky like puff pastry but still buttery and crumbly like shortcrust pastries. It's what a good egg tart should be.

I tried 3 different recipes in the same day. Not caring about the way they looked by the third recipe, I stuffed them into the egg tart tin/mold and baked away. Unknowingly, that last recipe was everything I ever wanted in a recipe.

So these egg tarts aren't as pretty as they can be, but they taste so delicious. I will have to make these again, paying extra attention to making them pretty next time for you.

You can see all those layers that make it so flaky and crumbly. They hold their shape when you bite into them. It's perfect.

Most of the recipe is by weight, instead of volume measurements. I recommend you go invest in a food scale. It's a very handy kitchen tool. I use mines many times a week. Without further a due, here is the recipe:

Water Dough:
250 g all-purpose flour
1/2 egg, beaten
25 g sugar
13 g shortening
75 g cold water

Oil Dough:
150 g cold butter
250 g shortening
200 g all-purpose flour

Egg Filling:
80 g sugar
280 ml cold water
4 large eggs
80 ml half and half

1. Make oil dough first. Put flour in a large mixing bowl. Add in butter, and cut using a pastry cutter. Then add shortening. Use a pastry cutter to combine into a dough.
2. Place in plastic wrap and freeze until firm. Mine takes about an hour.
3. For water dough: Put flour in a large bowl. Add in egg, sugar, and shortening. Mix. Add in cold water. Mix until a dough forms. Do not over mix.
4. Place in plastic wrap and freeze until firm.
5. After doughs are firm. Preheat oven to 350F. Make egg filling.
6. For egg filling: Boil water with sugar, until sugar dissolves. Let cool.
7. Mix eggs with half & half using a fork. Try not to add bubbles.
8. After sugar cools, add to egg mixture. Sieve mixture twice. Cover and keep in fridge until ready.
9. Roll out the oil dough into a rectangle.
10. Roll out the water dough into a rectangle that is twice as long as the oil.
11. Put the oil dough in the center of the water dough. Fold up both ends of the water dough to meet in the center, covering the oil dough completely.
12. Roll out flat. Fold into quarters. Freeze 20 minutes. Repeat twice.
13. Roll out flat and thin, then cut dough using a round cookie cutter a little bigger than the tart tin's diameter.
14. Place each circle into the tart tin (mines were 2 inches in diameter on top), and press into mold. Repeat with all of dough and mold.
15. Place molds on a baking sheet. Pour egg mixture into prepared mold until 4/5 full.
16. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Do not let the centers bubble up or form spheres. Your oven is too hot if it does.

You will love these, I promise.

St. Patrick's Day Sugar Cookies

I didn't plan on making cookies for St. Patrick's Day. I wanted to concentrate more on Easter designs. However, my husband said that I could make a chocolate mint cookie if I did St. Patty's cookies. I never even heard of chocolate mint sugar cookies. The idea was definitely stuck in my mind.

I decided to invent a recipe. Some basic sugar cookie dough - enhanced. I will be sharing this yummy cookie recipe with you. It's delicious enough to be eaten fresh out of the oven. A chocolate mint rolled/cut-out sugar cookie.

After baking these cookies, I did decorating on 3 different days. Each day I did a different set of designs. The last day, I finished way toooooo late in the night. The picture isn't as pretty without the natural light of the sun, oh well. =[ I packaged the cookies immediately and shipped them to my in-laws, so I didn't get a change to take a pretty picture the next day.

On the first day, I tried to come up with 6 different designs for the popular shamrock cookie cutter shape. I made a very basic one, covered a cookie in green royal icing with a green outline. I dazzled one with white sanding sugar on the outline. It was an easy way out.

Then I tried to be more creative, the other 4 designs were good enough for me.

On the second day, I wanted to play with other shapes. My favorite one on the second day is the pot of gold. I filtered out yellow confetti sprinkles from a spring confetti sprinkle jar by wilton for the gold coins. I painted them in gold luster dust for more gold like qualities.

For the pot of gold cookie, you start with an empty undecorated cookie.

Outline a pot shape and fill in.

After the base dries, draw a lip/rim on top of the pot. Allow to set.

Fill in the top with yellow/gold color royal icing. Sprinkle with yellow confetti sprinkles. Allow to set.

Then paint gold luster dust on coins if desired.

I also painted gold luster dust on this tiny pot:

I disliked making the rainbow cookie. I often dislike making cookies that require more than 4 colors. So much color mixing, and so much piping bags to fill. =[

On the third day. I went crazy with ideas. I tried drawing a cute leprechaun and his hat and a cool shamrock holding a flag. I had fun with these designs. 

I took tons of more pictures of each cookie at a close up angle, but don't have enough time to process the images tonight. Will update this post tomorrow with more photos, possibly maybe 2 days - some time before March 17. I promise.

Here is the chocolate mint sugar cookie recipe:

Chocolate Mint Cut-Out Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

Green food coloring (2 drops if gel)

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1/4 tps salt

1/3 cup Andes chocolate mints, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy.

2. Add egg, extract, and food coloring to achieve green color. Mix well.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, (cocoa powder)and salt.

4. Add flour mixture to creamed butter bowl. Mix well.

5. Mix in Andes mint. Either fold in, or mix in.

6. Refrigerate dough for at least an hour or overnight until firm.

7. Preheat oven to 350 F. Roll out dough to 1/8 in thick and cut shapes.

8. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before decorating.

Makes 2 to 3 dozen cookies depending on cutter size. I got 2 1/2 dozen.

Valentine's Day Cake, Cookies, and Cake Pops

I made a 2 tiered cake, several sugar cookies, and about a dozen and a half cake pops for my husband's co-workers this week.

Back of the cake:

That fondant ruffle edge or cap on top of the first tier was pretty fun to make. It was my first time making anything ruffle, and I decided to do a ruffle top.

I have a tutorial on how to make the fondant roses here: Fondant Roses Tutorial

I love birds. They are my favorite animal. Recently, I'm beginning to like owls. So here is a cupid owl. I have other Valentine's day cookie designs on my camera still, to be posted after valentine's day.

Cake pops in a bouquet.

Baptism and Birthday Cake, Cookies, and Cake Pops

So the big order I was working on this week was finished yesterday. It was quite enjoyable making every thing, and I actually didn't freak out or stress at all during the process.

I was given 4 photos, and I had to replicate the 2 cakes, 3 dozen cookies, and 3 dozen cake pops to match the photos. So I didn't make any of the designs, just merely replicate.

Here is the baptism / christening cake:

Front of Cake

Back of Cake

The birthday cake design I had to replicate isn't my favorite. I think the top tier is kinda boring, I would improve it if I were the designer. I think the silhouette of cookie shapes on the top tier is ugly.

Here is the birthday cake:

Front of Cake

Back of Cake

I had to make 3 dozen cake pops, in 3 different designs. I did not have difficulty dipping them, because I learned about a new ingredient that makes the chocolate thin. It's called paramount crystals. They are my new best friends.

I posted about the cookies already, but here they are again.

Baptism Christening Sugar Cookies

So the big order I was talking about last week has finally commenced. I finished the 3 dozen cookies yesterday, so I thought I would share those with you first before I get busy for the rest of the order.

These cookies are for a baptism/christening event this weekend. The 2 cakes and 3 dozen cake pops will be made tomorrow and Thursday. I'm working on the little decorations that will go on these cakes today. Excited, but nervous about Thursday night. I could be pulling an all nighter =/

If you want a full picture tutorial on how to make the sheep, leave a comment below. The sheep was pretty fun to make. I will make a tutorial if people really want it. A tutorial for the sheep can be found here.

Chinese New Years Sugar Cookies

I made Chinese New Years cookies last year, which was also my very first time making sugar cookies with royal icing. They weren't my best looking cookies. Now, a year later, I think my cookies look better. I am still improving my skill every day.

The recipe for these cookies, along with the original chinese new year themed cookies

can be found here. 

You can hopefully tell my piping skills have greatly improved.

I tried to keep all the cookies gold and red. Since thats all I see on red envelopes. I did use a little black and white though.

Year 2013 is the year of the snake. Chinese new year will be on February 10.

I'm very excited for it.

Super Bowl Football Sugar Cookies

I've been pretty busy. I just accepted a giant order to make 2 two-tiered cakes, 3 dozen sugar cookies, and 3 dozen cake pops all due on the same day. Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year all take place around the same time too. The horror. I started the little fondant decorations that will go on both cakes. In the hectic mess, I managed to squeeze out a few cookies for the super bowl this weekend. I'll also be making a trio of dips for the boys. So stressed.

You can tell what team I will be on. =]

These cookies are my basic sugar cookie recipe, which can be found here. The royal icing recipe is also there.

May the best team win!