Egg Custard Tarts

What can compare with the light crust and delicate flavor of Egg Custard Tarts? Here are a few tips to help you make this delicious dim sum favorite at home:

  A. The Crust:
 
Use Lard. It's fallen out of favor recently, but lard will produce the kind of lighter, flakier crust you want.

  Make sure you have a large enough surface for rolling out the dough. This is a delicate dough that doesn't take kindly to repeated rolling and shaping. If you don't have a large enough cutting board, roll the dough out on a a large piece of parchment or wax paper.

  B. The Filling:

Lightly beat the eggs. Stir the egg lightly with chopsticks or a fork, trying not to produce any air bubbles.
 
Before preparing the custard, make sure the filling ingredients are at room temperature. This helps prevent the filling from separating. Scalding the milk before adding to the other custard ingredients also helps.

Milk, Cream or ? Feel free to experiment, depending on how rich you want the custard to be.

One final tip: Yellow food coloring will give the custard that lemony look found in restaurant dishes.

Egg Custard Tart Recipes
Egg Custard Tarts: A basic recipe
Portuguese Custard Tarts: made with cinnamon