To prepare the mini custard tarts, start with the shortcrust pastry: place the flour, sugar (1), a pinch of salt, and room temperature butter cut into pieces (2) in a bowl. Also, add the baking powder ...

The non-Asian mother-in-law of a dear friend of mine once told me that “the Chinese don’t have desserts, not real ones.” The implication that I (a Chinese American) was other, different, and weird, ...