Egg Tarts & Cream Puffs

I successfully made a batch of egg tarts 2 weeks ago! yay!! successfully as in EDIBLE and 'can see the light' egg tarts 'x'

It took me two times to get the the right egg tart with 3 recipes =_=

At the end, the egg tart recipe at kuali.com is what got me thru =)

and last week, i made cream puffs

initially wanted to make durian cream puffs but dono why sudnly cannot find durian by the roadside anymore....

so just made cream puffs loh...

not trying to blow my own trumpet or wat, but cream puffs are surprisingly, relatively easy to make

i made the puff twice on saturday and sunday and the 2nd time round, it only took me 1 hour to prepare the batter and pop it in the oven

ok nxt time can make this for housewarming party...lol

Here are the recipes if you are interested (obtained from Kuali.com)

Egg Tarts (http://kuali.com/recipes/viewrecipe.asp?r=2578)

Ingredients

Pastry
210g plain flour
1 tsp milk powder
30g icing sugar
1/2 egg yolk
130g cold butter, cubed

Filling
120g castor sugar
250ml hot water
1¾ tbsp milk powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs

Method
Beat butter, icing sugar and egg yolk until creamy. Sift in flour and milk powder to mix into a pliable dough. Cover with a piece of tea towel and leave aside for 20–30 minutes.

Roll out pastry in between two sheets of plastic. Stamp out 9–10cm circles of pastry with a pastry cutter. Line egg tart patty tins with pastry circles (note: i have omitted this step, instead i mix the pastry with more flour so that it is firmer and then just press the pastry flat into the egg tart mould).

Trim off excess pastry dough and prick the base with a fork. Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C for 10–12 minutes. Remove and cool slightly.

To prepare filling, dissolve sugar in hot water and stir in milk powder and salt. Leave aside to cool, then add vanilla essence. Break eggs into a clean bowl. Stir lightly with a fork, but do not beat. Pour the cooled milk mixture into the eggs. Stir to mix, then strain into a measuring cup. Leave aside.Pour custard mixture till almost full into pre-baked pastry cases and bake at 180°C for about 15–20 minutes or until filling is set.

Cream Puffs

For the puff (http://kuali.com/recipes/viewrecipe.asp?r=1265):

Ingredients
125ml water
60g butter
2 eggsCombine:
75g flour
Pinch of salt

Method

Line a baking sheet with non-stick parchment paper. Preheat oven to 200 ºC.Place water and butter in a deep saucepan. Heat gently until butter melts. (Butter must melt before the water boils.) When butter has melted, increase the heat and bring water to a boil.

Remove saucepan from heat and add all the flour and salt. Return to the heat and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a smooth, sticky mass.Remove from heat and leave to cool for about four to five minutes.

Mix in eggs one at a time and beat with a wooden spoon until dough is mooth. (Avoid overmixing, and stop mixing as soon as the pastry is smooth.)To make choux puffs, drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture on the baking parchment. To make eclairs, pipe mixture out in long shapes.Bake immediately in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 180 ºC and continue to bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off oven heat and leave choux puffs to dry in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes.

For the Cream:

Ingredients
250ml milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2 egg yolks
50g sugar
25g corn flour

Method
Bring milk to a low boil in a deep, heavy saucepan. Add vanilla essence after it has boiled.

Combine egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly for three to four minutes. Add in corn flour and blend well.Pour hot milk gradually into the egg mixture and beat well with a hand whisk. Bring the mixture over a medium low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until it turns into a thick consistency.

Remove custard away from the heat and whisk for a few seconds until it is smooth. Leave aside to cool, then cover with cling film wrap and refrigerate.