Baked Egg Tarts

Ingredients

• 1 pack (approximately 30) egg tart shells
• 8 egg yolks
• 200 ml milk
• 450 ml single cream
• 80 g caster sugar

Method

Whisk the egg yolks, caster sugar, milk, and single cream together until the sugar dissolves fully. This isn't a quick blend — take two minutes to ensure there are no granules left, because undissolved sugar will crystallise on the tart surface during baking and create a gritty texture. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve (approximately 1 mm mesh) to catch any stray shell, membrane, and the occasional lump of cream that refuses to break down. This step is essential; it's the difference between a silken custard and one pocked with debris.

Preheat the oven to 220 °C. Arrange the tart shells on a baking tray with 0.5 cm spacing — this matters for even heat circulation. Fill each shell to 0.5 cm below the rim. Overfilling causes the egg-rich custard to bubble over and stick to the tray; underfilling gives you undersized tarts. The liquid should shimmer but not slosh.

Bake at 200 °C for 25 minutes. The tarts are done when the custard has set at the edges but the centre still shows the faintest wobble when you nudge the tray — a quarter-inch of movement at the heart, no more. The residual heat will continue to cook the centre as it cools, leaving you with a creamy set rather than a rubbery one. The surface will be pale biscuit or, if the shells were already golden, a light mahogany. If your oven runs hot, watch at 20 minutes; every oven behaves differently.

For a make-ahead approach: fill the shells but do not bake them. Freeze for 12 hours or longer. Bake directly from frozen at 200 °C for 30–32 minutes, adding 5–7 minutes to account for the starting temperature. No thawing required. This works because the custard hasn't set; the freezing simply holds everything in place until the oven's heat takes over.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Store covered in the fridge for up to three days, though the pastry softens and the custard's texture becomes denser — neither ruined, but noticeably different from the day they're baked.