Portuguese Egg Tarts

Dear Rasa Malaysia readers, I wanted to let you know that I absolutely adore you and that I am constantly amused (and flattered!) by your comments, wild imaginations, and creative minds! Last night, I posted a distorted picture (thanks to Adobe Photoshop) of the Portuguese Egg Tarts I made and asked my readers to guess what they were. This morning, I woke up and found some of the most hilarious yet creative answers in my comments box--my personal favorite has got to be the one about a kind of kuih (cake) that looks like an earring! I almost rolled on the floor laughing when I read that; so kudos to Raymond, you won the most creative answer award if not for the correct answer. A few readers got it spot on. I salute them for their keen eyes and wits and they are Eat First Think Later, Anonymous and Dr. Ve Thru. As promised, here are a dozen of Portuguese Egg Tarts for you! :) I did not make the Portuguese Egg Tarts from scratch. If you stay true and authentic to the recipe, it’s perfectly fine to take short cuts when it comes to cooking / baking. For the shell, I “cheated” with a pack of off-the-shelf Betty Crocker Pie Crust Mix. My egg tarts were not perfect, well, not yet. The filling "deflated" as soon as the tarts were out of the oven and there were pot holes on the surface of the filling. But taste trumps everything else. The instant pie crust mix did not disappoint. In fact, it completely blew me away--the crusts were so flaky and the texture was so light that my Portuguese Egg Tarts tasted like they came straight out of a patisserie. The filling was also a tad too sweet--but not over the top. Overall, I was very pleased with my creation. If you live in California and would like to try out some really good egg tarts, I strongly urge you to go to the following two establishments: Golden Gate Bakery 1029 Grant Ave San Francisco, CA 94133 (415) 781-2627 This famed bakery is a legend in the San Francisco Bay Area. The line is longer than the Great Wall of China, but let me assure you that their egg tarts are well worth the painful wait. Don't expect any good service from the shop keepers either, but do expect a lot of satisfaction from the hot-off-the-oven egg tarts. Golden Gate's egg tarts are 5 fingers licking good, or in my Malaysian term, very JILATABLE! Jim's Bakery (金狮饼家) 102 E. Garvey Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91755 (626) 573-5757 This is the best kept secret of Southern California. Jim's egg tarts are equally sublime and the crusts are so flaky they are to die for. Trays and trays of egg tarts are served right out of the oven but they are usually gone in no time. Call ahead to get the freshest and prettiest selection. Opens from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Rasa Malaysia Portuguese Egg Tarts Recipe (Makes 12 tarts) Ingredients A (Crust): 1 box of Betty Crocker Pie Crust Mix (Net Wt 11 Oz) 3 tablespoons melted butter 1/3 cup cold water Ingredients B (Filling): 4 egg yolks 1/3 cup of sugar 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream 1/3 cup of milk 3 drops of vanilla extract Stir the pie crust mix, cold water, and melted butter until pastry forms a ball. On a floured surface, roll the dough and cut it into 12 balls. Set aside. Use an electronic beater to blend Ingredients B. Beat for about 3 minutes and strain the filling through a strainer. Set aside. Preheat oven to 200F. Butter the muffin pan. Flatten the balls into small rounds and fit them well into the muffin pan by pressing firmly on bottom and side (do not over stretch). Fill the pie crust dough with the egg mixture (about 80% full). Bake the Portuguese Egg Tarts at 400F for about 15-20 minutes or until the filling turn brown. Enjoy!