Thai Tea series - Part III Bake Thai Milk Tea Cheese Tart

Thai Tea series - Part I Thai Milk Tea Chiffon Cake
Thai Tea series - Part II Thai Tea Cookies

Woohoo... I'm still going strong for my Thai Tea series ;p

This time round, decided to play with my signature Bake Cheese Tart recipe and incorporate Thai Milk Tea :) Well, since there's already a chocolate flavour in the market, other flavours could possibly be introduced in time to come?

Anyways, I baked a batch on Sunday afternoon but somehow the cheese flavour overwhelmed the Thai Milk Tea taste and I wasn't satisfied with the results. When I was cooking the custard, I added the cream cheese bit by bit to reach the desired balanced taste. Before sending the tart for baking, the Thai Milk Tea flavour was distinct with cheesy undertone, but after the tart was baked, the cheese flavour took over and I couldn't taste much of the milk tea anymore -_-"

So this morning, I tested another batch by increasing the intensity of Thai Milk Tea and reducing the cream cheese further. This time round, it was much better with more distinct milk tea flavour after the tart was baked :)

Bake Thai Milk Tea Cheese Tart
(makes 15 petite size tarts, using 5cm round cutter/3.5cm base tart case)

Ingredients

(A) Thai Milk Tea

• 150g fresh milk
• 3 Thai Milk tea bags

(B) Tart pastry

• 120g plain flour
• 25g caster sugar
• 60g salted butter, cut into cubes, cold
• 1 tbsp thai milk tea

(C) Thai milk tea cheese custard

• 100g Thai milk tea
• 50g cream cheese
• 50g whipping cream
• 40g salted butter
• 30g caster sugar
• 20g cheddar cheese
• 10g corn starch
• 1 egg (about 55g nett weight)
• Egg yolk + thai milk tea mixture for brushing on top of custard

Steps
(A) Thai milk tea

1. Add fresh milk and thai milk tea bags into a pot, heat the fresh milk till hot to touch and remove from heat. Let the tea bags infused for 15 mins. 
2. Strain the tea bags, there should be about 115-116g of thai milk tea.

(B) Tart pastry

1. Sift plain flour and caster sugar into a large bowl. Add cold salted butter cubes.
2. Using finger tips, break the butter and rub the butter into the flour mixture, until it resembles bread crumbs.
3. Add 1 tbsp (about 15-16g) of thai milk tea (from A) to the mixture, use a scrapper to mix the tea into flour mixture.
4. The mixture will come together and thereafter, use hands to form the mixture into a dough.
5. Knead the dough gently into a ball. Place the dough between 2 pieces of plastic sheet.
6. Roll the dough to about 4mm thickness and place in fridge to rest for about 1 hour.

(C) Thai milk tea cheese custard

1. Add thai milk tea, cream cheese, whipping cream, salted butter, caster sugar and cheddar cheese into a small pot.
2. Place the pot into a large, shallow pan/pot with barely simmering water. This is the bain marie method, to create a gentle and uniform heat for cooking custard. Keep stirring the mixture till everything is melted.
3. Once the mixture has melted, add sifted corn starch. Mix till well-blended, the mixture will thicken slowly.
4. Add the egg and keep stirring till well-blended, the mixture will further thicken into custard.
5. Sift the custard for a smoother texture (as they may be some fine lumps and grainy bits in the custard). Cover the custard with a clingwrap on the surface and let the custard cool down completely.

(D) Assembly

1. Remove the dough from fridge. Dust a baking mat (and rolling pin) with flour, use the round cutter to stamp the dough.
2. Use a metal scrapper (dust with flour) to lift up the cut dough.
3. Place the cut dough over the tart case and gently press it downwards.
4. Using finger tips, gently press and mold the dough into the tart tin. Use a fork to poke holes at the base of the tart cases.
5. Bake the tarts at 180C, fan mode for 10mins. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.
6. After the tart cases are cooled slightly, remove them from the tins and let cool completely before use.
7. Preheat oven to 235C conventional mode. 
8. Fill the thai milk tea cheese custard into a piping bag. Pipe the custard into the tart cases, shape slightly domed. Brush custard evenly with egg yolk-thai milk tea mixture.
9. Bake the tarts at 235C conventional mode, for 8 mins.
10. Once baked, remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. Best eaten warm, freshly baked.

Totally love how the tart turns out. The tart crust is crunchy and the custard is creamy and gooey with lovely aroma and taste of Thai milk tea as well as cheesy flavour. Love the combination of sweet and savoury in one!

The kiddo ate one after lunch and already requested to pack two for his school snack tomorrow =D