Yum Cha Egg Tarts

I was sick on Friday, so when I was asked to make something for the church fate I wasn't very keen, but as I was feeling better on the Saturday, I decided to make something less fussy and easy. A few years ago, a friend of mine, Jenny, make me a batch of these heavenly egg tarts. The custard is glossy, soft and sweet, and the pastry is particularly wonderful. Later when she kindly give me the recipe, i realised the secret ingredient of the pastry : cream cheese! Yeap, it's very yummy and they taste just like those egg tarts from the yum cha trolleys!!



Hong Kong Egg Tarts ( makes about 30 egg tart with a very thin layer of pastry, or make about 14 egg tart with a nice thick crust )

Ingredients for the pastry:

• 125g cream cheese, soften
  
• 125 g butter, slightly salted, cubed
  
• 11/2 cups AP flour

Methods:

1. Rub the butter into the flour and cream cheese until combine.
   
2. Do not add water because the moisture from the cream cheese would be enough to bind the dough. It may appear a bit crumbly in the beginning, but it would be OK.
3. Divided the dough into 2 portion, and wrap with cling wrap. Store in the fridge for about 30 mins.
   

Ingredients for the custard:

• 3 eggs, lightly whisked
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Methods:

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius.
   
2. Combine everything in a big mixing bowl, whisk until sugar dissolved.
   
3. Pour the custard mixture over a fine sieve into a jug.
   
4. Roll out the pastry, divided the pastry into 30 small equal portion, and press them onto the muffin pan ( which you'll then have 14 egg tarts ), or petty aluminium cases ( which you'll then have about 30 egg tarts ).
5. Bake the pastry in the oven for about 15 mins.
   
6. When the pastry is golden, take them out of the oven, and pour the custard mixture onto each pastry cases. Bake the tarts in the oven for a further 30 mins, until the custard is set.
   
7. Cool on tray, but best serve them warm.
   

Of course, you can skip the blind baking part and just pour the custard onto the unbaked pastry and bake in pre heated oven for 30 mins, but because I'm making very thin pastry layer, I don't want my pastry to go soggy with the custard. But if you're making a thicker pastry layer, by all means, skip the blind baking part.

These egg tarts were very silky, smooth and sweet and the tart is very crunchy from the blind baking. They are best eaten warm! Unfortunately, I have to sell them cold during the church fete, but they're still delicious!

In love with Lebanon

If i were to tell you that I got most my dinner and baking recipe from going to gym will you believe me? I know you'll think that I am joking, coz what on earth will a gym have so many recipes and meal ides?? But it's true. You see, there are 3 big LCD TV in front of me when I was on the treadmill, one is news, one is sport, and the other one will often always be a cooking show, depending on the timing of course. It's really amusing when I was running and shedding those fats, while in front of me, the chef is frying Foie gras !! There are also a lot of women's day magazines around, which also contain a lot of recipes!
So,when I was working out yesterday, I saw this recipe, about making your own chocolate baklava, I was immediately inspired. Especially since I am so hooked on Lebanese cuisinee these days.
I have a good study at the recipe, and decided that I'm going to go with my own style. I make it without the chocolate ( as a traditional baklava normally don't use chocolate ), and using a combination of pistachio and cashew nuts. Because I want to make it more healthy, and less sugary, I did not bother to make the sugar syrup, instead, I use maple syrup with rose water, and just brush the syrup on the pasty rather than pouring the whole syrup over the pastry and let them soak. But I shall includes the recipe for the sugar syrup if you like your baklava toothachiningly sweet.


Pistachio and Cashew Baklava

Ingredients:

• About 9 sheets of filo pastry
• 100g melted butter
• 100g pistachio, shelled
• 100g cashew
  
• 5 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp rose water

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius
2. Combine the pistachio, cashew and brown sugar into a grinder and grind for about 5 mins in high speed, or until the mixture resembled coarse pebble. ( beware, the texture should not be too sand like ). Add in the rosewater.
3. Use a big wet towel to cover the filo pastry to prevent them from drying out.
   
4. Took 1 sheet of filo pasty, and lay on a dry bench, and brushed the top side of the filo with a very thin layer of butter. Took another sheets of filo pastry, lay it on top of the buttered filo, and continue brushing the top side of the pasty with filo. Repeat with the 3rd sheets of filo.
   
5. Gently scatter a thin layer of ground nuts mixture on the buttered pastry, and rolled it up like a cigar. Cut the rolled up baklava into desired shaped, ( in my case, i just cut them into little tubes about 4 cm long ).
   
6. Put the baklava on a tray lined with baking paper. Brushed the top of baklava with a little butter.
7. Repeat step 4-6 until all the nuts mixture have been used up. The above recipe will yield about 3 long rolled up baklava and about 15 (4cm) cut baklava.
8. Bake in preheated oven for about 20-25 mins, or until the pasty is crisp and brown.

Alternative syrup :

• 5 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp rose water

Methods:

1. Combine the maple syrup with rose water, heat it in the microwave for about 30 second or until the the syrup is hot.
   
2. Brushed the hot baklava generously with the syrup, let it cool to room temperature before serving.
   

Original syrup:

• 1 cup of caster sugar
• 1 cup of water
• 2 tbsp rose water

Methods:

1. Dissolve the caster sugar in water on the stoves. Stir in rose water.
   
2. Pour the sugar syrup over hot baklava and let it soak for 2 hours before serving.

Beware though because I added sugar in the nut mixture, so the baklava is already sweeten. If you would like to soak your baklava in sugar syrup, it's best to excludes sugar in the nut mixture to save your pancreas from overworking !!



Since figs are good companion to middle Eastern cuisine, and since I've recently bought a bag of figs, I decorated my baklava with it. The figs are beautiful and blushing just like 2 lovers met!

How to survive recession and keep your friends

You know Easter is just around the corner when all the supermarket shelf are being replaced with lot's of chocolate bunnies, chocolate eggs and hot cross buns. Almost everyone will rush in at the very last weekend before Easter to buy these chocolate treats from family and friends. Normally, I would join the crowd and buy a few treats, but I still have about 3 easter eggs sitting in the pantry from last year, and I'm not alone, few of my friends have chocolates from last Easter too. So, I decided to do something different this year, something that is more one of a kind, and perishable. Hence have to be appreciated and consume upon received.
There are so many easter goodies to make as well. I decided to skip the traditional hot cross buns, ( since it's so easy to buy one from anywhere ),and go with something a bit different.
As usual, I like to make simple, easy and delicious treats, and these chocolate easter crackles are just the kind of goodies to make. All in all, you only need some Mars bars and Coco Pops, and it yields about 40 crackers! Now, what a good idea to save money and still be generous!!



Chocolate Easter Crackles

Ingredients:

• 200g Mars Bars, chopped
• 2 tbsp cream
• 4 tbsp coconuts
  
• 3 cups Coco Pops
• 40 mini eggs for decoration

Methods:

1. Place the Mars bars and cream in a heatproof bowl over simmering water.
2. Stir until melted and smooth. ( it will take sometime for the Mars bars to melt )
3. Place coconuts and coco pops in another huge bowl, pour the melted Mars bar mixture and stir until well combined.
   
4. Quickly pile mixture into small paper cases and decorate each with a mini egg.
   
5. Place in the fridge until firm, store in airtight container for about 2 weeks.
   

aren't they look gorgeous? I glam them even further by putting them into small boxes, and give them to special friends.



or simply pile them into a basket and bring it to the office to share!

Happy Easter and Happy Holiday!