Inspiration would originate from a desire for crunchy breakfast food and a desire to deplete the remainder of my allergen-unfriendly supply of pistachios from Tavazo before the brief return of my browsing partner. As depicted in countless iterations in the past, granola is a hassle-free approach that transforms the basic pantry staple of oats to guarantee amplified flavour and texture. Homemade renditions are endlessly customizable, forgiving, and preposterously budget-friendly. While I've experimented with a variety of add-ins, dried cranberries, sesame seeds (black and white), and almonds constitute my regular picks, namely for their long shelf life but also for their unrivalled complexity.
The chopped nuts were then folded into unmeasured quantities of rolled oats, golden yellow sugar, olive oil, sesame seeds, and three egg whites. In learning from previous trials, one egg white would be insufficient in offering binding properties, though three would contribute a granola bar-like cohesiveness. Two egg whites was the ideal amount for my usual recipe, though I decided to increase the amount given that I had unintentionally crafted a larger batch than normal, simply by using a larger bowl for rough measurements.
SK's 9 inch made more than I had ever anticipated. To the formula's defense, I ought to have known that. The ingredient list couldn't exactly be scaled down, given the requirement of one egg yolk, though, in hindsight, I could have portioned out half and froze for later use.
- Three medium aluminum tart pans
- Two small non-stick tart pans
- One small non-stick casserole dish
- Two mini aluminum tart foils
- One large aluminum tart foil
Of the assortment, five portions of dough would be fully baked and four partially baked ("par-baked"). The plan was to fill the fully-cooked tart shells with lemon curd and the rest with an egg tart filling - totally unplanned, for the record.
Custard is too finnicky a component to merely rely on guesswork, thus I took to Sunday Baking to foolproof my formula. Her "Best Lemon Meringue Tart" recipe was adapted to use just two yolks and no whole eggs, as I wanted a relatively thick filling.
- 2 egg yolks / 36 g
- 90 g granulated sugar
- 15 g rice flour
- 4 g vanilla bean paste *
- 65 g lemon juice
- 65 g butter
Par-baking the remaining tart shells was rather challenging, for they varied in diameter. In order to prevent burning, the mini tart shells would bake in the toaster oven, while the medium and large in the conventional oven.
As with the Almond Frangipane Tart before, the mini tart shells did not experience puffing in spite of omitting pie weights. On the other hand, the slightly larger and deeper variations were not as forgiving. Pie weights are recommended, for deflating puffed centres after baking would only result in warped undersides, as mentioned above.
Hurriedly reviewing my archives to remind myself of no-go recipes, I dismissed The Woks of Life for a sugary, disappointing filling. The filling for Nata, the creamier, richer cousin of the classic Cantonese egg tart would also be unsuitable for this application.
In spite of the Simplified Chinese title - which irked me more than just slightly - and the uninspiring, rigid-looking cross-section of the custard, I bit the bullet and assembled the list from Omnivore's Cookbook.
- ̶4̶ ̶l̶a̶r̶g̶e̶ ̶e̶g̶g̶s̶ → 3 eggs
- 60 g sugar
- ̶2̶0̶0̶ ̶g̶ ̶h̶o̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶t̶e̶r̶ → 150 g water
- ̶1̶2̶0̶ ̶g̶ ̶e̶v̶a̶p̶o̶r̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶m̶i̶l̶k̶ → 90 g heavy cream
- ̶p̶i̶n̶c̶h̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶s̶a̶l̶t̶
Surface colour and filling silkiness would vary across the tarts, depending on size and bake time. (Mind you - I did not keep track of their individual baking times, but merely waited for visual cues while flitting between the trays and washing dishes.) The mini tarts boasted a supple interior and the most uniform tart-to-filling ratio. In contrast, the medium offered a sturdier mouthfeel with more tart than filling. The large aluminum foil container had baked for the longest due to volume, resulting in a friable tart edge and somewhat soggy underside. Given that the tray had been removed almost immediately after the filling had set, the interior was incredibly silky and delectable.
It is worth noting that I did not terminate the slew of unprecedented trials there. The next morning, I'd tackle my lone tart shell with matcha ganache.
- With one egg yolk on hand, one can make the tart dough, then split and freeze.
- Use less butter in the lemon curd; vanilla is optional
- Do not overbake tart
- Pie weights are essential for par-baking tart shells; exception: mini tart shells
- Springform tart pans are superior to casserole dishes as they assist with heat dissipation underneath