Egg Tarts

We love egg tarts, but I am reluctant to use the aluminium tart cases or moulds. I prefer paper liner which is safer than aluminium. I tried with regular 12 holes muffin pan with liner, surprisingly the egg tarts turned out well. Be sure to press the crust evenly and as high as the height of the hole, or else you may have some filling left.

Ingredients (makes 12 tarts) 
For the crust 
220g plain flour
40g icing sugar
100g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 egg (about 60g)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Filling
230ml fresh milk (regular, not low fat) 
70g caster sugar
2 eggs (about 60g each )
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Method 

1. Lightly beat the egg with vanilla extract. Set aside. 

2. Sift the flour into a big mixing bowl. Then sift the icing sugar and mix well.  

3. Add the butter to the flour mixture. Use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour to form crumbs.

4. Add the egg  mixture and mix to form a dough. Wrap the dough with cling wrap and put into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. It will be easier to handle the dough when chilled. 

5. While the dough is chilling in the fridge, heat up the milk with sugar on low heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar and remove from heat once sugar has dissolved. In a bowl, lightly beat the 2 eggs with vanilla extract. Add the egg mixture to the warm milk and whisk to combine. Do not whisk till frothy.

6. Sift the mixture and set aside. This helps the egg custard to be smooth. 

7. Preheat oven to 175 degrees celsius. 

8. Using a regular 12 holes muffin pan, divide the dough into 12 balls, about 30g each. 

9. Flatten a ball into a flat disc using your palm and place it over a muffin liner. Use your fingers to press the base and sides to even out the crust. Height of the crust should be about the height of the muffin hole. Use a fork to poke some holes. Repeat for the remaining 11 balls. 

10. Bake the crust for 10 minutes or till it is white and sightly puffed up. 

11. Remove from oven and fill each crust equally with the filling. 

12. Bake the  tart for about 15 minutes. When the filling is cooked, the center will rise slightly and only the center is a bit wobbly. As every oven is different, do keep an eye on the tarts.

13. Remove from oven and cool on a rack. The filling will firm up slightly and the surface is shiny.