Cow Dung Pile @ UFO Tarts 牛屎堆 - MFF Sabah #5

cow dung piles :-)

I'm not trying to be disgusting.... but don't you think they do look like it?

I grew up in an area where I do see cows walking around. They don't walk around freely, but are guided by their owners to feed at the field near my old house. Therefore..... the roads are also decorated with brown piles from the cows. It's no longer a common sight.. it makes me miss those days.

UFO shaped, base baked by placing a Tbsp of batter on a lined baking tray

This tart is the pride of Sandakan. Read here. I first saw these on TV on Axian and that's where I got to know about them. The featured shop piped them like cow dung and I do find them looking cute. I imagined them being rather sweet.... cake, meringue, custard....

But when I tried making them based on a guideline from this site.. it turned out quite pleasant. It is still on the sweet side, but not that sweet  (less sweet than a bar of Snickers for sure!) Adding salt to the meringue helps cut the sweetness, but maintains the structure.

from my 1st attempt, piping work not nice, LOL

I prefer the base to be on the crispy side after grilling as it actually gives another textural dimension to the soft meringue. Maybe you will think otherwise as taste is always a personal thing. To make the base crispy, just let the tarts stay in the hot oven (open once when done, for a few seconds to rapidly remove hot air and vapour, then close it again) until they cool off by themselves, so no rush in eating.  But if you like the base soft, just remove them when they are done.

My family enjoyed this a lot, especially the kids. If you have an apom bokwa mould, making this will be perfect. I reheat them the next day and it tasted just as fresh as the day before. The soft marshmallowy meringue stayed put without refrigeration.

sloppy meringue makes it look like the thing from the cow, hahaha

Cow Dung Pile @ UFO Tarts
by WendyinKK
Reference: Jibuyabu 


Tart Base
60gm butter (I used salted)
50gm sugar
1 egg (Grade B)
½ tsp vanilla extract
50gm cake flour, sifted with 1/2 tsp baking powder

Custard
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp custard powder
1 tsp plain flour
50gm milk

Meringue
1 egg white
1/8 tsp salt
Few drops of vinegar or ¼ tsp cream of tartar
2 Tbsp sugar
Few drops of vanilla

1. Preheat oven at 150(fan)/170C. Prepare 10 pcs of large egg tart tins (or use muffin pan)
2. Prepare tart base. Beat butter with sugar until pale and then beat in the egg. Beat until it looks like buttercream. Beat in vanilla extract. Fold in flour. Divide into prepared pans. Bake for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare custard. Place egg yolk and sugar into a microwavable vessel and whisk it until combined. Add in custard powder and flour and whisk until smooth. Mix in milk. Zap in microwave on high on 30 seconds intervals and stir. (Mine was done with 2 zapping). Let it cool down. (you can double boil, because this small amount makes direct heat cooking almost impossible)
4. Prepare meringue. Beat egg white with salt until frothy, then put in vinegar. Add in sugar gradually and beat until stiff. Put in vanilla and give it a light beating just to combine.
5. When the base are done, remove them from the pan and divide the custard filling equally.
6. Pipe the meringue using a 7mm round tip around and on top of custard in your preferred manner.
7. Grill at 180C for 2 minutes or until browned. Serve warm.

I am submitting this to Malaysian Food Fest Sabah Month hosted by Mary Of a Pepper's Love

I can't find a video for Axian's show, but found this instead. Enjoy!