Ube Egg Tarts

Ever heard of Ube? Ube is a pretty purple yam that is a staple dessert ingredient in the Philippines, where it’s often boiled and mashed, and commonly used for jams and puddings or to color sweet treats and breads. I decided to add some ube extract into my hong kong egg tarts to give it a slightly richer taste. Ube contains a mild, sweet flavor that has been compared to pistachio or white chocolate and vanilla.

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• Taste: ★★★★★
• Difficulty: ★★★
• Ingredients: ★★★
• Time: 60 min (assembly) + 30 minutes (baking) = ~1.5 hours total

INGREDIENTS

For the pastry:

• Butter dough:
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 stick cold unsalted butter
• Water dough:
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 egg yolks (save the egg whites for the custard!)
  • 1/4 cup cold water

For the custard:

• Simple syrup:
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
• Egg custard:
  • 3 large eggs + reserved egg whites from earlier
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut the cold butter into cubes – MAKE SURE THE BUTTER IS COLD!
2. In a food processor, blend all the butter dough ingredients until a pliable dough forms
3. Wrap the butter dough in plastic wrap and form into a square, chill in fridge for 15 minutes
4. Blend all the water dough ingredients in a food processor until a pliable dough forms
5. Using a rolling pin, roll out the water dough to ~1/2 in thickness and then roll the corners outwards even more
6. Once the butter dough has been chilled, take it out of the fridge and place the square of butter dough into the center of the rolled out water dough.
7. Carefully fold the water dough corners OVER the butter dough until the butter dough is completely wrapped like a present, then roll everything out until it is 1/2 in thick
8. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C)
9. 3X4X4 Puff Pastry Method
   1. Fold the pastry into 3 layers like a book and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes
   2. Take it out and roll out the pastry completely, then fold into 4 layers (fold each side into the middle and then fold one side over the other)
   3. Chill for 15 minutes
   4. Make the custard filling at this time by microwaving the sugar and water. Let it cool and then add the rest of the custard ingredients and whisk until combined. If desired, run the liquid through a sieve to catch lumps.
   5. Repeat step 2
10. Cut out circles of pastry and using your thumbs, work the dough in the molds and up the sides.
11. Pour the custard filling into each mold until it is 3/4 full.
12. Bake for 25-30 minutes until pastry is golden brown and the custard is set.
13. Enjoy!!