Coconut Pandan Tart - Jun & Tonic

Put the flour, salt, and cubes of cold butter into a stand mixer (with a paddle attachment) or food processor. Then, mix on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until it becomes sandy, with little to no large lumps of butter left. Then, add the egg and a teaspoon of water and mix briefly until the dough comes together. If you find the dough doesn’t come together, add in a bit more water until it does. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. (The recipe above makes enough for 2 tarts, so you can split it in half and store it separately if you wish.)

On a well-floured surface, roll out the shortcrust pastry dough using a rolling pin until it is at least 4 cm/1.5 inches larger than your tart pan all around, and about 2-4mm thick. Lay the dough into the tart pan, making sure to fit the dough snugly into the edges, and trim off the excess dough using a knife or by rolling a rolling pin over the sides of the tart pan. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before filling and baking it.

This couldn’t be easier. Just put everything from the ingredients list in a bowl and whisk until they're all well-combined!

This starts off with a basic crème patissiere. Heat the milk, coconut milk, vanilla extract and salt in a saucepan until it starts to steam. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl until it becomes slightly pale and fluffy. Pour half of the heated milk mixture into the egg yolks, and whisk until well-combined, then add in the rest of the hot milk. Pour all of this liquid back into the saucepan, and heat until it thickens and starts to bubble, whisking vigorously all the time (around 2-3 minutes). Place this crème patissiere in a tray or bowl, cover the exposed surface with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until it’s cool to the touch. Meanwhile, whip the whipping cream until it forms medium peaks, and add in the pandan liquid/extract. Then, fold the pandan whipped cream into the cooled crème patissiere in 3-4 batches until well-combined.

Pour the coconut filling into the tart, and bake it in an oven preheated to 180°C for 50-60 minutes, until the top of the tart is nicely browned. You can stick a cake tester or skewer into the middle of tart to check its doneness; The tart is done when it comes out clean! When done, remove the tart from the oven and cool it on a wire rack.

When the tart is cool, spread the pandan cream over the top of tart and smooth it out. Garnish it with mint leaves, coconut flakes, kerisik, and gula melaka 'caviar'. Alternatively, you could pipe the cream and decorate the tart as fancily as you like too. Channel your inner Cédric Grolet!