ZERO-FOLDING PASTEL DE NATA, A HYBRID

Ingredients

CUSTARD:
• 1 cup (240 grams) whole milk
• 2/3 cup (160 grams) heavy cream
• 3 tbsp (45 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp (12 grams) flour
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3 tbsp (57 grams) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
NO-FOLDING TART SHELL:
• 8 tbsp (113 grams) unsalted butter, room-temperature
• 1 cup (146 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tbsp (7 grams) unsalted butter
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 5 tbsp (76 grams) water

Instructions

1. MAKE CUSTARD: Combine milk, heavy cream, granulated sugar and flour in a pot and set over medium-low heat. Whisking constantly and cook until the mixture starts to simmer and thickens slightly. Turn off the heat, and continue to whisk for 2 more min to make sure it's lump-free, then set aside. In an easy-to-pour container, whisk together egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract. SLOWLY pour the hot milk-mixture into the yolk-mixture (so you don't scramble the yolks), whisking constantly, until evenly combined. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 2~3 hours until cooled. Can be made the day ahead.
2. MAKE TART SHELL: It's important that the butter is completely softened to room-temperature. Placing cold butter (cut into chunks) in the oven with the lights on for about 1 hour, does the trick for me. Meanwhile, Knead together all-purpose flour, 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter (this is separate from the 8 tbsp), salt and water, for 3~5 min until a smooth dough forms. The dough should be soft and very supple, but not sticky. If your feel the dough is too dry/hard, wet your hands and knead the extra moisture into the dough. Wrap it with plastic-wrap and let rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
3. After resting, dust the dough and the working-surface well with flour, then cut the dough in half. Roll the first portion out so it fits the entire width of your pasta-machine, then pass it through the machine on the thickest setting. Dust it well again with flour, then feed it back to the machine, but this time, loop one end over the other and press it down so they stick. You're creating a "conveyer belt" so to speak, which allows you to finish rolling the dough without re-feeding it back to the machine. Now, keep the dough well dusted with flour inside-out the whole time, and keep rolling it until you've reached the thinnest setting.
4. The dough will be very delicate at this point so work gingerly. Cut the dough near the pasta-machine then roll to release it, then cut again length-wise in half (or if you had a super long counter-top, you can keep it whole). Lay them flat on a well dusted counter-top, then use your fingers to spread 1/2 of the room-temperature butter evenly across the entire surface. Start rolling the dough from one end to the other. You'll notice that in the beginning, it forms long tapered tips on both sides (see photo). Once they get too long, simply tuck in both tips and keep rolling (see photo). Once you finish rollin the first sheet, place it over the second sheet and keep rolling. While rolling, gently pull the log towards you to get a tighter roll.
5. Wrap and chill the first log in the fridge while you repeat with the second portion (see NOTE on doing it in one go). Same steps, roll it to fit the width of the machine... make a conveyer belt... roll to the thinnest setting... cut and release... then rub the remaining butter evenly across. Now take the first log out of the fridge and place it on one end of the new sheet, and roll again. You'll notice that the sheet tends to gather at the centre of the log. Don't worry. Simply push the tips in and use your hands to push/smooth the dough from the centre towards the tips to make it even (see photo). Wrap and freeze the log for 1 hour until hardened. Periodically, take it out and roll it to get it as round as possible.
6. The trick to shaping the tart-shell is to cut the log while it's cold, but shape it once it's softened slightly so it stretches well without cracking. So, remove the tips of the log, then cut into 12 disks about 1/3" (8 mm) thick then place in the centre of the tart mold, and wait for 10 min to soften. Dip your thumbs in water, then start by smoothing the cut-side of the dough outwards to fit the mold, then push it from the centre outwards until the dough is pushed up slightly higher than the rim of the mold. Aim for a thinner bottom with a thicker rim. Dip your thumbs with water whenever it sticks, and repeat with the rest. Once finished, flash-freeze for 30 min to harden (or keep in the freezer until needed), and *preheat the oven on 500 F/250 C.
7. Place the mold on a large baking-sheet that allows them to loosely fit. Pour the custard into the shells to fill them all the way to the top, then bake on the middle-rack of the oven for 10 min. Then switch to top-heat (if available) and bake for another 5~7 min until golden browned and caramelised.
8. Let cool inside the mold for 5 min, then transfer to a cooling-rack. They're fantastic while hot, and still fantastic once cooled. Dust with cocoa powder or ground cinnamon if preferred.

Notes