Macau and it's Portuguese Egg Tarts

We had our honeymoon in HK-Macau last April 2010. It's been years I last visited Hong Kong and my relatives here. This time it was different as we had the chance to visit the magnificent Macau.

One thing that made every trip (whether local or abroad) special is the food. I always look forward to trying out the places' special dishes. In Macau, I tasted the "bestest" Lechon Macau and Portuguese Egg Tarts. Too bad we were not able to take a photo of the egg tarts are they were so inviting (and smells sooo good) the moment my cousin opened a box of those.

Portuguese egg tarts were evolved from “pastel de nata”, a traditional Portuguese custard pastry that consists of custard in a crème brûlée-like consistency caramelized fashion in a puff pastry case. Instead of the deep aroma of egg yolk and milk you would expect from typical egg tarts, for good Portuguese egg tarts, you should taste the slightly burnt sweet taste of caramel and custard – a very hard to put in words taste experience.

One day, I was craving (really craving!) of this Portuguese Egg Tart and in my 5 years in Dubai, I have not seen or eaten any egg tarts that is as delicious as the one we've tasted in Macau or in Lord Stow's in Manila. I couldn't resist it anymore so I decided, why not make it! Thanks to http://www.rasamalaysia.com/ for this recipe. =)

Ingredients:
1 sheet puff pastry
2 tablespoons melted butter

Ingredients for the filling:
4 pieces egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. In a working board, lay puff pastry and allow to thaw for a minutes or until pliable.
3. Brush sheet with melted butter and then roll tightly starting from one edge towards the other end.
4. Cut and divide dough into 12 pieces.
5. Flatten the sliced dough into small rounds and fit them well into the muffin pan by pressing firmly on bottom and side (do not over stretch). Chill for a few minutes.
6. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine ingredients for the filling. Whisk until well combined then strain.
7. Fill the pie crust dough with the egg mixture (about 80% full).
8. Bake the Portuguese Egg Tarts at 400F for about 15-20 minutes or until the filling turns golden brown.

It was sooo nice to finally give in to my cravings!