Maple brûlée tartlets

My love for mini food can sometimes go well and sometimes not so much – I saw a beautiful maple brûlée tart on DH mag #51 and immediately ran to the kitchen to bake it, but decided to make tartlets instead. The problem is that the pastry shrunk so much there was almost no room for the filling. :S
To solve the situation, I baked the remaining filling in a water bath and ended up with a delicious maple crème brûlée – if I were you, I’d ignore the tartlets and go straight to the ramekin version. :)

Maple brûlée tartlets
from Donna Hay magazine

Vanilla pastry:
1 2/3 cups + 1 ½ tablespoons (250g) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon caster sugar
¼ teaspoon baking powder
180g unsalted butter, cold and chopped
1/3 cup (80ml) iced water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
1 cup (240ml) pouring cream
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (112g) caster sugar
¼ cup (60ml) maple syrup
caster sugar, for sprinkling

Make the pastry: place the flour, sugar and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor and process to combine. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. While the motor is running, gradually add the water and vanilla (mix them together before pouring in the processor). Process just until mixture comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to 3mm thick. Line a lightly buttered 28cm pie pan with the pastry. Prick with a fork and freeze for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line the bottom of the pastry with foil, cover with baking weights or beans and bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove the weights/beans and the foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until lightly golden.
Place the milk and cream in a small saucepan over low heat just until boiling. Place the eggs, extra yolks, sugar and maple in a bowl and whisk to combine. Gradually whisk in the milk mixture. Allow to cool. Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F. Pour the mixture into the pastry case and bake for 15-20 minutes or until just set. Allow to cool in the pan.
Sprinkle the tart with sugar just before serving and caramelize with a small kitchen blow torch until a golden crust forms.

Serves 8 – I halved the recipe above and got 10 tartlets (9cm each)