"Patience is a bitter plant, but it has sweet fruit."
~ Chinese proverb
Dahn tats (pronounced "dahn-TAHT") are my favorite Chinese dessert. Literally, the words mean, "Egg Tart" and that's just what they are: silky, velvety, sweet egg custard surrounded by delicate buttery or flaky crust, each a little taste of heaven. Mmmm. I think one of the reasons I've always loved dan tats is because as a kid, when you get that whole mini-pie to yourself, it's kinda cool. Your own special dessert, all to yourself.
I found a simple recipe online and chose that one because I didn't want to muck up the delicious simplicity of egg custard. Also, this recipe was one that used the shortbread-style crust, which is the kind I like (the other is flakier, almost like a more dense version of puff pastry).
This is all you need to make delicious dahn tats (you don't need the Matryoshka doll measuring cups, but they're awesome [thanks, Jing!]):
To make the crust, pulse flour, sugar, and salt together in a food processor (after that's combined, add the butter, and finally an egg):
For the filling, lightly whisk together the egg yolks and sugar (and when those are combined add the milk):
When the dough is combined, put it in a Ziploc bag and chill in the fridge for about 10 minutes. After it's chilled a bit, it's time to form the tart crusts. This was the tedious part. I wanted to make mini dahn tats (mini mini-pies!), so I used a mini muffin pan. Wow. That took a long time (I also made normal sized ones with a regular muffin pan):
After all that, I filled the tart shells with the egg mixture:
And it all went into a preheated 350F oven for about 30 minutes (I rotated the pan midway to make sure everything cooked evenly). The tarts are done when the custard is pretty set but still a bit jiggly in the middle. I cooled them in their pans for another 30 minutes, then moved them to a wire rack to finish cooling just a bit more (you can actually eat them after the initial cooling time we found later, but I just wanted to be sure they were set).
Here's a look at one of the mini ones:
These were yum. Like I said, I really like the shortbread crust, and this recipe was an easy one with a great result. Next time I think I'll cut down on the sugar in the custard just a bit, and actually, I've also got to try this with some Paleo hacks.
All in all, these were a hit. Thanks to the girls for being so patient and staying so late Tuesday just to sample these after our Tuesday Night Chinese New Year Dinner. Laurie couldn't stay, but I'll be sure to make these again (earlier) next time she's over! Gung hay faht choy!
Related Links:
Fred M Cup Measuring Matroyshkas, Set of 6 Dry Measuring Cups
Fred & Friends M-Spoons Measuring Spoons
HIC Brands that Cook Essentials Silicone 12-Cup Muffin Pan
Silicone Solutions 12 cup Mini Muffin Pan
Baker's Secret 1061483 10-by-16-Inch Nonstick Cooling Rack, Set of 2
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