Coconut Tarts

When I moved to the USA the first thing I look for was freshly grated coconut. Since growing up in Malaysia coconut play an important part in our cuisine. We use freshly grated coconut or coconut milk in our dessert and curries. Lucky I am able to get the frozen kind from the Vietnamese and Indian grocery store here.

I have some leftover short crust pastry from my savory quiche, I decided to finish it up by making some coconut tarts. You can find this type of tart at every Chinese Bakery but making them is not difficult. The pastry of the tarts is soft and flaky while the coconut filling is moist and buttery with a slightly caramelized flavor. They are the best for afternoon tea.

Pastry:

280 gram flour
50 gram sugar
1 egg
150 gram butter, chilled and cut into cubes
2 tbsp cornstarch
½ tsp salt

Filling:

200 gram fresh grated coconut
80 gram melted butter
90 gram sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp condensed milk
1 tbsp custard powder or cornstarch

1. Sift flour and cornstarch together into a mixing bowl. Add in the sugar and salt. Mix well. Rub in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
2. Add in egg. Mix until the pastry begins to form large dough. Press together gently with your fingers to form the pastry into a ball.
3. Chill pastry dough for about 30 minutes.
4. In a bowl, mix all ingredients of filling. Set aside.
5. Press pastry evenly into tart mould. Trim the edges to remove excessive dough. Fill tarts with coconut filling.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degree F oven for 30-35 minutes until lightly brown.
7. Leave the tarts in moulds for 5 minutes before turning it out onto wire rack to cool.

Note : For the pandan coconut filling just add a few drop of pandan paste to it.