Egg Tarts (Dim Sum Style)

In a food processor, add the flour, powdered sugar, salt, and butter. Pulse a few times until the butter is the size of peas. Transfer to a large bowl and add the sour cream and stir gently so that the sour cream is incorporated. I like to use my hands towards the end so that I know the butter doesn’t crumble too much. The dough should begin to take on a shaggy texture.

Transfer the shaggy dough onto a parchment sheet and form the dough into a ball. Take another parchment sheet and lay it on top of the ball of dough and then roll out your dough into a rectangle with about ¼-½ inch thickness.

Unwrap the top layer of parchment and make a tri-fold by taking the right side of the dough and folding it ⅓ of the way to the center. Then, take the left side and fold over the first fold. You should end up with a smaller rectangle. Cover the dough with the parchment paper and chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. Don’t leave it in the freezer for too long or it will freeze and become too hard.

Once chilled and slightly hard, roll out the dough again to a larger rectangle and make a tri-fold one more time. Then chill in the freezer for 15 minutes before making your tarts.

To make the tarts, butter your cupcake pan or egg tart molds well to prevent sticking.

Roll out your dough to about ¼ of an inch with a circle cookie cutter that is the right size for your molds. For a standard cupcake pan, I used a 3 ¾ inch cookie cutter.

Carefully move the circles into the molds and press the dough firmly into each mold. Use a fork to prick the centers of each tart to prevent rising during baking. This should make at least 12 tarts. You may have extra scraps of dough that you can reshape into a ball and save this for future pastry puff recipes.

In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, evaporated milk, condensed milk, and vanilla extract. Whisky thoroughly.

Run the egg filling through a fine mesh strainer at least twice to remove large pieces of egg yolks and air bubbles. This will give you a smooth filling.

Fill each tart shell about 75% of the way up to make room for rising during baking.

Preheat your oven to 400 °F.

Place your cupcake pan or egg tart molds on a sheet pan to help balance the tarts and for easy transportation. Place the tarts in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 10 minutes. At this point, the tart shells should rise and begin to brown on the edges, while the centers should be slightly jiggly.

Lower the temperature to 350 °F and bake for another five to 8 minutes or until the centers are firm, and before the edges burn. To test the centers, press a toothpick in the center of a tart. If it comes out smooth, then they’re finished. If the centers are still wet, bake for another minute or two.

Remove the egg tarts from the oven, let them rest on the counter for about five minutes, and then remove them from the molds and onto a wire rack for cooling. Serve these egg tarts fresh, but you can also toast them the next day.