Recipe - Egg Custard Tarts

Tart Pastry:
One fourth cup Butter
One fourth cup Lard
1 Egg
6 tablespoon Sugar
2 cup Sifted all purpose flour.
Egg Custard Filling:
2 Whole extra large eggs
3 Extra large egg yolks
1 cup Whole milk
One half cup Half and half
1 cup Sugar

Cream the butter with lard. Add egg and sugar. Beat well. Add flour, 1 cup
at a time. The dough will be mealy. Work quickly with your hands to gather
dough into a ball. Knead lightly so the mixture adheres. You may chill it
at this point while making the filling.

Egg Custard Filling: Be sure all the ingredients are at room temperature.
Beat whole eggs at low speed with egg yolks well. Do not over beat, add
sugar, then milk, then half and half. Let mixture rest 10 15 minutes.
Skim foam from mixture.

Separate dough into 24 ball. Press each into 2 One half inch tart shell to an
even layer across the bottom and all the way up the side. Fill shell with
filling almost to the top. Preheat oven to 300. Place tarts on cooky sheet
and bake for 45 minutes. Cool for 10 15 minutes. Loosen slightly by
inserting a toothpick along the sides. Tart shell should unmold easily.

Rhoda Yee's comments: It is important that the ingredients for the filling
be at room temperature and beaten over a bowl of warm water. Cold
ingredients will cause filling to separate during baking. By skimming off
the foam, the custard will have a golden, creamy appearance with a velvety
smooth texture which is a most unique and delightful gastronomic treat! Do
not bake at high heat, this will cause the custard to bubble up like a
balloon and burst.

From "Dim Sum" by Rhoda Yee. Posted by James Lor.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini