Delicious Buko Pandan Tart

Today, I will share to you one my favorite snack ("merienda" in Filipino dialect) recipe, the buko pandan tart. I learned the recipe several years ago from a Filipino nurse colleague.

This recipe makes about 24 regular cupcake sized buko pandan tarts

Now, the following are some of the equipments necessary:

·        2 large bowls

·        pizza cutter

·        rolling pin

·        clean smooth flat surface board

·        cling wrap

·        7 cm and 8 cm diameter round bowls

As for the ingredients, there will be 2 main parts of the tart, the dough crust and the buko pandan filling.

Let's start with the dough, we will be needing the following:

·        2 and 3/4 cups of all purpose flour

·        1 and1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

·        1/2 of a cup - granulated white sugar  

·        1 piece of a medium sized egg

·        2 to 3 tablespoons of water

·        1/2 of a cup - margarine

·        1/2 of a cup - lard  

Next, for the buko pandan filling, we need:

·        2 cups of buko pandan meat

·        1 cup of buko pandan juice

·        1/2 of a cup - white sugar

·        1/2 of a cup - evaporated milk

·        1/3 of a cup - pure cornstarch

And one last thing, we will need another egg to make an egg wash and brush the top our tart before we put it into the oven.

If everything is all set and ready, we can start making the buko pandan tart.

Procedure:

1. In a large bowl put the all-purpose flour, then add the sugar and baking powder. Mixed thoroughly then add in the margarine and lard. Cut the lard and margarine chunks using a fork until they look tiny like little stones in the sand.

2. Beat the egg and add it into the dough crust mixture. Mix it well. Add 2 tablespoons of water and knead it well. If the texture still needs a little moisture add a teaspoon full until 3 teaspoons. Knead well, wrap it with a cling wrap then refrigerate while you make the buko pandan filling.

3. To begin with the filling, dissolve the cornstarch in the evaporated milk. Set the stove to medium heat. Heat up the buko juice for 1 to 2 minutes then add the buko meat and sugar. Cook for 3 minutes, while continuously mixing it to dissolve the sugar and prevent burning your buko.

4. Next, add the evaporated milk-cornstarch mixture. Keep mixing constantly until it thickens, approximately about 5 to 10 minutes. Cool it down a bit.

5. Take the dough and divide into 4 parts. Flatten the single portion of the dough to about 1/8 cm. flat. NOTE: A quarter potion of the dough makes 12 pieces of round flat dough.

6. Using the 8 cm diameter round bowl, firmly press it over the dough to make a round shape mark. Carefully remove the extra outer portion of the round flat dough and transfer the round dough into the cupcake molder holes. Make sure the entire molder was well covered with the dough.

7. Puncture the dough in the molder with the fork just about 3 to 4 times to make mini wholes to prevent air formation at the buttom

8. Put some filling just about 1 and 1/2 tablespoons for every tart. Then using the second portion of the dough mixture, cover with 7 cm diameter  flat round dough and puncture the top with a fork,. This step is optional, based on how you want to design the top of your dough. Another option on covering your tart is you can also make long stripes using a pizza cutter and make a weaving design just like a making pie. Alternately placing stripes of dough  horizontally and vertically.

9. Preheat the oven and set it at 180 degrees celcius centigrade.

10.  Lastly, make sure to seal the edges well by lightly pressing the edges of the dough. Before you put the tart in the oven, brush the top with your egg wash mixture to make a brownish top crust. To make an egg wash just put 1 tablespoon of water into an egg and beat it. Put the tarts in the preheated oven and cook it over 45 minutes.

After cooking, this is how it looks like. Try it out and see it for yourself. Sure, this is an enjoyable dessert for everyone to share!

BUKO PANDAN TARTS