I can confidently say that there is no better pastry than a freshly baked egg tart. You could argue that the freshly baked version of any pastry is the best but there is something different about an egg tart that just came out of the oven. The egg custard is incredibly silky, there is just enough tension at the top of the custard to hold it all together, and a layer of shine sits on top of the custard which makes it even more inviting. The crust of an egg tart is even less forgiving, over time the custard softens the crust, whether is a crisp cookie crust or flakey pastry crust. What I’m trying to say that if you see a tray of egg tarts come out of the oven at a Chinese bakery or cha chaan teng, don’t think twice, and immediately order one to enjoy right away.
I’ve been on an ice cream kick this summer and one of my main ice cream goals was to recreate the iconic egg tart in ice cream form. I toyed around with the idea of making an egg custard ice cream with pieces of cookie tart crust studded throughout, but eventually came to the realization that the egg custard ice cream could replace the actual custard component of an egg tart. Because the ice cream egg tart would have to be frozen, the tart shell would stay crisp and not become soft over time like a regular egg tart.
How to make egg tart ice cream
Like with most ice cream bases I make, this one is a creme anglaise base, a classic custard made with heavy cream, milk, sugar, and egg yolks. I have a go-to ratio of the first three ingredients and like to experiment with the amount egg yolks for different recipes. I knew I wanted this ice cream to be extra eggy and rich so the custard base uses more egg yolks than a standard creme anglaise recipe. Using egg yolks with a deep orange colour will also help give the ice cream base a nice golden hue, but if your egg yolks are paler, you can add a few drops of food colouring to achieve the colour of an egg tart filling. After cooking down the ingredients to form a thick, smooth base, the custard is chilled overnight before churning.
How to make the egg tart shell
There are two camps of egg tart eaters: cookie crust lovers and pastry crust lovers. I am a cookie crust lover through and through, which works out wonderfully for this ice cream. Freezing flakey pastry would not provide the same crisp and texture to the ice cream when eaten frozen. You can choose to make the tart shell components in one of two ways, making it from scratch or using store-bought tart shells. I tried both for this recipe and am happy to report that both work well, but do highly recommend making your own tart shells. A homemade all-butter tart shell gives the egg tart more flavour and better texture. After making the dough and forming the tart shells, bake the tart shells until golden brown. There will be no more baking after this step, so you want the tart shell to reach the level of doneness you like on an egg tart. I baked my tart shells in aluminum tart tins, to mimic how egg tarts are served at a Chines bakery.
How to form the egg tart ice cream
After churning the ice cream base, portion the ice cream into the baked tart shells. I used an ice cream scoop to evenly portion the ice cream into each tart, then used an offset spatula to smooth out the top. Return the egg tarts into the freezer and allow the ice cream to firm up. Enjoy when the ice cream is frozen!
Egg Tart Ice Cream
Ingredients
Egg Tart Ice Cream
- 7 large egg yolks
- 480 ml (2 cups) heavy cream
- 240 ml (1 cup) whole milk
- 150 g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- A few drops of yellow food colouring, optional
Tart Shell
- 150 g (2/3 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 30 g (4 tbsp) icing sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 240 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
Egg Tart Ice Cream
- Separate seven large eggs and place egg yolks in a large bowl. Lightly whisk egg yolks and then set aside.
- In a medium pot, combine heavy cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Heat over medium heat until it reaches a very light simmer.
- Gradually pour the the milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.
- Cook over low heat, whisking constantly until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Refrigerate the ice cream base to chill thoroughly, at least four hours, preferably overnight.
- Once thoroughly chilled, churn ice cream based on ice cream maker's instructions.
Tart Shell
- If using store-bought tart shells, bake according to the package instructions for a cooked filling tart.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Place 16 tart shell liners/tins onto the baking sheet and set side.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine softened butter and icing sugar. Mix on low speed until smooth. Add egg yolks and vanilla, and mix until smooth again.
- Add flour and kosher salt. Mix on low until the dough comes together and there are no more dry streaks of flour.
- Divide the dough into 16 equal portions (using a scale if available). Alternatively, if you want the scalloped edges on your tarts, you can roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper to 1/4-inch in thickness, and use a scalloped round cutter to punch out the tart dough.
- Line each tart shell with a portion of dough. Using a fork, dock the bottoms of each tart to prevent the shell from puffing up when baking.
- Transfer tart shells to the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Bake tart shells until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
- Remove the cooked tart shells from oven and allow them to cool completely before filling with ice cream.
Assembly
- Using an ice cream scoop, place one scoop of churned egg tart ice cream into each baked tart shell. Smooth the top of the ice cream using an offset spatula or back of a spoon. Continue with remaining tart shells.
- Transfer the filled egg tarts to the freezer and freeze until fully firm.
![day two: sparkly matcha neapolitan shortbread cookies ✨
the instructions might seem confusing, but if you watch the video to see how the different flavour layers are stacked, it will make much more sense! these slice and bake cookies freeze extremely well so you can make the dough now and bake them off when you want to gift them. (makes 40-44)
vanilla dough:
85g (1/3 cup + 2 tsp) unsalted butter, room temp
45g (6 tbsp) powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
90g (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
matcha dough:
85g (1/3 cup + 2 tsp) unsalted butter, room temp
45g (6 tbsp) powdered sugar
90g (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
2 tsp culinary matcha powder
1/4 tsp salt
strawberry dough
85g (1/3 cup + 2 tsp) unsalted butter, room temp
45g 6 tbsp) powdered sugar
90g (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
2 tbsp freeze-dried strawberry powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg white
coarse sanding sugar
for the vanilla dough, combine butter and powdered sugar in a bowl. mix until smooth. add vanilla. add flour and salt and mix until no dry streaks remain. do the same for the matcha and strawberry doughs in separate bowls
place one portion of the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll into a 5 x 9-inch rectangle that is about 1/4-inch thick. slide rolled out dough onto a baking sheet and freeze for 10 min until firm. repeat this step with the other portions of dough
remove the top piece of parchment from each slab and stack the strawberry, vanilla, and matcha dough layers. cut the slab down the middle the long way to form two 2.5 x 9-inch rectangles. with one half, carefully swap the order of the layers (example: if the first half of the dough is stacked svm, swap the second half so it’s msv. this will ensure that same flavour squares don’t stack on each other). stack the halves. press the layers gently to adhere them. return the stacked dough to the freezer for another 10min
[recipe cont’d in comments]
#christmasbaking #christmascookies #holidaybaking #holidaycookies #cookiedecorating](https://constellationinspiration.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
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