Ham Cheesy Patties : The Picnic Game

I am "going" on a picnic and I'm bringing Ham Cheesy Patties that begins with the letter H. For those of you who are familiar with Louise, the lovely lady from Months of Edible Celebrations, would know about this on-line picnic called, The Picnic Game, that Louise is hosting each June, with the final round-up on 1st July. If you are new to The Picnic Game, hop on over to Louise's for more details.

June 18th is International Picnic Day and Louise has invited us for a picnic game from 18th to 28th June. And I'm "going" on a picnic with Louise and all the lovely ladies who has joined in the fun.  This is the third year that I'm joining in The Picnic Game.  The game is played by selecting a letter and you are supposed to make some food beginning from your chosen letter, to the picnic. The chosen letter will be confirmed and assigned to each person by Louise, like in my case, I chose the letter H, and it is for Ham Cheesy Patties. And that's not all, each of us must list what the other persons before your letter, are bringing! It is a fun on-line picnic game!

The Picnic Game 2014 organized by Louise of Months of Edible Celebration

I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing ............

A - Angel Food Cake

B - Basil Leaves In Caramelized Prawns

C - Chicken Piccata

D - Darned Easy Potato Salad

E - Eccles Cakes Filled With Leeks, Spinach and Blue Cheese

F - Fourth of July Picnic S'more Tarts

G - Gluten-Free and Eggless Chocolate Steamed Cake

H - Ham Cheesy Patties
I -  Italian Frittata with Vegetables
J -  Jelly Roll
K - Kahlua Zucchini Chocolate Chunk Cake
L -  Lemon Lavender Cakes
M - Meringue Roulade with Raspberries 
N - Nutella Rice Pudding
O - Old-Time Favorite Iced Red Bean Popsicles
P - Pickles
Q - Quinoa Blueberry Mango Salad
R - Raspberry and Fig Cobbler
S - Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
T - Two Ingredient Ice Cream Bread
U - Uninvited Smash Potaotes
V - Vegan Mango Salsa
W - Watermelon Salad
X - Xmas Coconut Wreath Cake
Y - Yellow Squash Crustless Quiche
Z - Zucchini Cake-Double Chocolate

(I will update as we go along into The Picnic Game)

Here it is, Ham Cheesy Patties

I'm bringing this plate of Ham Cheesy Patties to the picnic, don't worry, there's lots more in the picnic basket!  :)

Let's take a quick look at how these patties are made.

Firstly, make the shortcrust pastry (refer to the recipe below). Roll out the pastry dough and cut out rounds and place the rounds in greased tart moulds, trimming the edges to fit mould. 

For the filling : Alex Goh has given the option to include some meat, and I have used chopped ham. The sliced onions are suateed until soft, then the ham are added in, stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Dish out to a plate and set aside to cool. Place some of the onion-ham mixture into each of the pastry cases, sprinkle some chopped spring onions and pour over the custard to almost full. I sprinkled more black pepper over the top. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 25 minutes until custard is puffy and golden brown. 

For the custard : Whipping cream and milk are heated up until hot, stir in grated Cheddar cheese until cheese melts. Remove from heat, and gradually whisk in the lightly beaten eggs, whisking the mixture briskly while pouring in the egg to avoid curdling. Whisk until mixture is smooth, add in some salt and black pepper to taste.

Let patties cool in their tart cases to slightly warm. The custard filling will settle down as they cool. This single recipe yields 16 patties.

 Serve them slightly warm, they are so darn good! Delicious!  The pastry is really very buttery, and crispy-tender when eaten warm. And the filling is so tasty! 

These patties are really mini quiches. Though I would suggest eating these patties while still warm, they are really good too, when eaten at room temperature. Perfect to bring for a picnic or a get-together.

We had this for breakfast the next morning, simply reheat them in their tart moulds at 180C for 10 minutes and they are just as delicious!

Ham Cheesy Patties
(adapted from "Irresistible Pastry", Alex Goh)
1 portion shortcrust pastry (refer below)
150gm onions, sliced
4 slices ham, chopped (my addition)
3 tbsps oil
2 sprigs spring onion, chopped (I've used about 4-5 sprigs)
150gm milk
150gm whipping cream
100gm grated Cheddar cheese
3 eggs, lightly beaten
some salt
some black pepper
some ground cinnamon (omit this)

For the pastry tart :

Roll out the pastry dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap (or place on a lightly floured work surface with a plastic wrap over the top) to 3mm thickness. Cut it out with 4-inch round cutter. Line the greased tart moulds with the cut-out pastry, pressing against the base and sides of the mould, and trimming off any excess at the rim of moulds.

For the filling :

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the sliced onions and fry until brown and soft, about 8 minutes. Add in the chopped ham and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes. Set aside to cool.

For the custard :

Mix milk and whipping cream in a small pot, over a medium heat until mixture is just hot. Add in grated Cheddar cheese and stir until cheese melts. Remove pot from heat and gradually add in the lightly beaten egg stirring the milk-cheese mixture briskly, so as not to curdle the eggs. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Add some salt, black pepper and ground cinnamon to taste (taking into account that the cheese might be salty).

To assemble the tart :

Divide the onion-ham filling equally among the tart moulds. Sprinkle some chopped spring onions over each tart. Pour the custard over until almost full. (I sprinkled some black pepper over each tart before baking).

Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Custard will puff up during baking and it will settle down upon cooling.

Shortcrust Pastry 
250gm flour
150gm butter
pinch of salt (omit this as I've used salted butter)
60-80gm water (I used about 1-3/4 tbsps iced cold water)

Cut the butter into small pieces and mix it with the flour till crumbly. Add in salt and then water (adding 1 tablespoon at a time, I used only about 1-3/4 tbsps, using iced-cold water). Mix to form a dough. Shape into a ball, press it into a flat disk, wrap with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated for 30 minutes.

Use as directed above.

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I'm also sharing this post with :

• "My Treasured Recipes - Alex Goh (Jun/July 2014)" hosted by Miss B of Everybody Eats Well in Flanders and co-hosted by Charmaine of Mimi Bakery House.
• Little Thumbs Up : June 2014 - Butter, organized by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Jozelyn Ng of Spice Up My Kitchen
• and Cook-Your-Books #13 @ kitchen flavours