Here’s how to make the egg custard tart from ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ at home
We’re back at it with another cooking Friday at Cape & Castle! The past seven editions, we have made a sweet treat, and we’re about to make another one, unapologetically. What we haven’t done is tried a dish from a television show. Today, we are changing that by hopping off our flying bison and regaining our honor by making the egg custard tart from Avatar: The Last Airbender!
Image: Nickelodeon
A few months ago, if you mentioned Avatar, most people would probably think you were talking about the 2009 “Pocahontas with blue people” film that was Avengers: Endgame‘s predecessor as the highest-grossing film.
However, times have changed as Netflix has awoken the world’s attention to Avatar: The Last Airbender, and we couldn’t be happier. The internet was flooded this summer with Avatar: The Last Airbender related memes and fan art that made you think you were back in 2006 watching the show after school with an afternoon snack of Teddy Grahams.
Image: Nickelodeon
More than just a children’s cartoon, Avatar: The Last Airbender is a thrilling series that features a variety of moral dilemmas and character arcs that few live-action “grown-up” shows can provide. Through the influence of animation triumphs like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the notion that people outgrow animation due to its failure to captivate mature audiences has crumbled. Avatar: The Last Airbender (and it’s 2010 live-action film that is not to be named) stands to prove that animation is a brilliant art that will never vanish like Aang.
If you think your year has been bad, it’s nothing compared to what the television series’ main protagonist faces. Imagine being in a coma and waking up in 2020, but you are also solely responsible for fixing all of it.
For years there was harmony between the four nations of the elements, but everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Believing that they were superior, the Fire Nation tossed the world into war, justifying their genocidal actions by claiming to be sharing their gifts with the world.
The four elements are essential to life in the spiritual world of Avatar that demands to be balanced. Only the Avatar, the master of the four elements, is prophesied to defeat the Fire Lord and end the war, but the problem is, the Avatar disappeared.
One hundred years later, the airbender Aang awakens from his icy unconsciousness in an iceberg to find the Air Nomads wiped out and the world trapped in a blizzard of ash from the flames of the Fire Nation. The Avatar had finally returned, but not as the person everyone thought. Only physically twelve-years-old, the airbender had not yet mastered the water, earth and fire elements before his disappearance.
As he travels to the globe to complete his bending training, we see Aang as a spirited kid untouched by the cynicism of the world who finds incredible joy in penguin sledding, koi riding and most importantly, egg custard tarts.
Image: Nickelodeon
While journeying through a vast Earth Kingdom canyon in season one’s “The Great Divide,” Aang has to restore peace by resolving the feud between two tribes on his way to learn water bending. But that isn’t the only problem; the canyon guide banishes food due to its tendency to lure dangerous predators.
Though sternly warned, the two tribes ignore the disclaimer and smuggle in food, provoking the anger of Aang. However, Aang’s anger doesn’t last for long as an egg tart catches his eye, reminds him of how hungry he is and never escapes his mind for the rest of the journey.
Though a mythical series, egg tarts are a real dish that arrived in China in the 20th century as a version of Portuguese pastry “pastel de nata.” This week, we used a recipe from bingingwithbabish.com! You can find the recipe here.
While we will never be able to create ice spears like Katara, bend metal like Toph or redirect lightning like Zuko, now we can binge the series (and now The Legend of Korra too) or listen to “Secret Tunnel” with the Avatar’s favorite snack! We only hope that Aang was treated to all the egg custard tarts in the world after he defeated Fire Lord Ozai and saved the world. He deserved it!
What other dishes would you like to see us make? Let us know on Twitter and make sure to share what kind of bending is your favorite at @capeandcastle! You can check out other food articles here. Also, be sure to check out our site for more articles on all things Disney and beyond!
