← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 225 g plain flour
• 40 g Icing sugar
• 1 pinch Salt
• 130 g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 egg, beaten
• 70 g Sugar
• 120 ml hot water
• 170 ml Evaporated milk
• 3 large eggs
• ½ tsp Vanilla extract (optional)

Method

1. Make the custard first: stir the sugar into the hot water until dissolved and let it cool to room temperature. Whisk in the evaporated milk, eggs and vanilla without making bubbles, then strain through a fine sieve.
2. For the pastry, rub the butter into the flour, icing sugar and salt until it looks like breadcrumbs. Mix in the beaten egg and press into a soft dough. Wrap and chill for 30 min.
3. Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Divide the dough into 12 balls and press each into a fluted tart tin or a muffin tin hole, pushing it evenly up the sides to about 3 mm thick and slightly above the rim.
4. Fill each case about 90% full with custard, skimming off any bubbles on the surface.
5. Bake for 10 min, then lower the oven to 180°C (350°F) and bake for 12–15 min more, until the pastry is golden and the custard is set at the edges but still slightly wobbly in the centre. If the custard starts to puff up, open the oven door a crack for a moment.
6. Cool in the tins for 10 min before easing out. Best eaten warm on the day.

Tips

• Over-baking makes the custard puff, crack and turn spongy; take them out while the centre still jiggles.
• For a flaky version, use shop-bought all-butter puff pastry rolled thinly and cut into rounds.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

King Arthur Baking Tasting Table The Woks of Life