Hong-Kong style egg tarts are probably my favorite pastry. Period. And the best part is…they can be made at home.
Chinese or Hong Kong egg tarts can be found in Hong Kong, Macau, and other parts of China. The Hong Kong and Macau versions differ slightly. Macau’s version was brought over by Portuguese colonizers, and they have more of a scorched, caramelized exterior. The Portuguese egg tart eventually made its way to Hong Kong, where it was influenced by British custard tarts, which are a bit more glassy and smooth.
Ah, the sweet, sweet taste of colonial expansion.
You can buy Hong Kong egg tarts at Chinese bakeries, where you might be lucky enough to get a warm one. But recently, we got them at a restaurant that made them to order, which was a first for us. Even at dim sum restaurants, they’re never that fresh. They were hot out of the oven, and it was UH-mazing. Because having them right out of the oven is a WHOLE other ball of wax–a completely different experience from the normally lukewarm version.
But we don’t all have dim sum restaurants within reasonable traveling distance that make these, so it’s time to learn to make them from scratch like the best of ’em. While you’re at it, you should check out our collection of dim sum recipes but for now, let’s focus on Hong Kong egg tarts. So gather round, padawans–a whole lot of awesome is about to come your way.
So for the tart crust, we’re using an extremely flaky, tender, buttery “rough puff pastry” dough (we adapted it from this tart crust recipe here from BBC GoodFood), which is like a shortcut to puff pastry. You could also try buying puff pastry from the grocery store, but I’ve never really been a puff pastry user (would it puff too much? I’m not sure…), and making this dough yields lovely results. There’s a healthy amount of debate among egg tart lovers about crust–sweet and cookie-like? Or very flaky pastry? We’re somewhere on the flakier side of the spectrum here.
The filling only has 5 ingredients–all of which you probably already have in your pantry. And the end product? Smooth as silk, glassy, shiny custard tarts that will blow yo’ mind.
Here’s what you need:
- 200g all purpose flour (1 ½ cups)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
- 200g unsalted butter, room temperature but not softened (14 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- scant 1 cup hot water
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk, at room temperature
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
Before you start, note that this definitely isn’t one of those times when rand-o eyeball measurements are ok. Definitely get out your measuring cups and spoons! If you add too much water to the custard, for instance, your custard will be too thin, and unlike the world’s general consensus on runway models, pizza crust, and minty, habit-forming Girl Scout cookies, no one likes a too-thin custard. This is a super easy recipe, but make sure you measure each ingredient!
Ok, let’s start.
In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Add the butter and break it up roughly with your fingers, making sure to keep visible little chunks of butter in the dough. We like those.
Add 2 tablespoons of cold water and bring the dough together. Add a tiny bit more water if necessary, but not too much, as this will make your pastry tough. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board, knead gently, and form into a neat rectangle. Roll the dough away from you (not back and forth), forming a long rectangle (about 8×20 inches). Try to keep the edges even, and don’t overwork the butter streaks. Flecks of butter should still be visible in the dough. Fold the top third of the dough down to the center, then the bottom third up and over that. Give the dough a quarter turn (left or right) and roll out again to three times the length. Fold the same way as before, cover, and chill for 30 minutes. At this point, the dough is essentially done.
While the dough is resting, make the filling. Dissolve the 1/2 cup of sugar into the hot water, and allow to cool to room temperature. Thoroughly whisk eggs and evaporated milk together and then whisk in the sugar water and vanilla.
Ok, so see those bubbles that inevitably formed from your very lively, energetic whisking? Not good.
Strain through a very fine mesh strainer–this step is extremely important to getting a smooth, glassy egg tart. No bubbles should be visible on the surface of the custard.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F/200 degrees C and position a rack in the lower third of your oven. Roll out the dough and cut circles to fit your tins (you can also use a shallow muffin pan–the only reason why we had these adorable little aluminum tart pans was because we saved all the tins from previous egg tart consumption for the inevitable moment when we decided to make these. Yes, we are nothing if not frugal!). Press the dough into the tins.
Check out our Chinese Cooking tools page to see our collection of kitchen tools we use regularly and links to where you can get these Hong Kong Egg tart tins!
Fill each tart shell.
Once filled, immediately put into the oven. Very carefully transfer the baking sheet to your preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C and bake another 10-12 minutes, until filling is just set (if a toothpick can stand up in it, it’s done). If you see the pastry/custard starting to puff up a bit too much, your oven is a little too hot. But don’t worry, if you catch it early enough, open the oven slightly, and they won’t crack. When you take them out, they’ll settle back down again.
(Almost forgot to note: you can make the Hong Kong egg tarts look a little bit prettier by using a chopstick or a fork to make a little fluted edge on the dough before filling. Totally optional.)
You can let the tarts cool for a couple minutes and enjoy them while they’re still very warm.
And that’s it! You are now an egg tart Jedi.
For the best results and mind blowing texture and taste, eat these Hong Kong egg tarts while they are still warm!
…who can enjoy these Hong Kong egg tarts with a cup of milk tea in the morning!
Here’s the full printable Hong Kong Egg Tarts Recipe!
Hong Kong Egg Tarts
Ingredients
- 200 g all purpose flour (about 1 ½ cups)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar (plus 1 tablespoon)
- 200 g unsalted butter (at room temperature but not softened; 14 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 1 cup hot water (scant 1 cup)
- 3 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk (at room temperature)
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Add the butter and break it up roughly with your fingers, making sure to keep visible little chunks of butter in the dough. Add 2 tablespoons of cold water and bring the dough together. Add a tiny bit more water if necessary, but not too much. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board, knead gently, and form into a neat rectangle. Roll the dough away from you (not back and forth), forming a 20 x 50cm rectangle (about 8x20 inches). Try to keep the edges even, and don’t overwork the butter streaks. Flecks of butter should still be visible in the dough.
- Fold the top third of the dough down to the center, then the bottom third up and over that. Give the dough a quarter turn (left or right) and roll out again to three times the length. Fold the same way as before, cover, and chill for 30 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, make the filling. Dissolve 1/2 cup sugar into the cup of hot water, and allow to cool to room temperature. Whisk eggs and evaporated milk together and then thoroughly whisk in the sugar water and vanilla. Strain through a very fine mesh strainer--this step is extremely important to getting a smooth, glassy egg tart.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F/200 degrees C and position a rack in the lower third of your oven. Roll out the dough and cut circles to fit your tins (you can also use a shallow muffin pan). Press the dough into the tins and use a ladle to fill each tart shell until just reaching the edges of the outside crust. Once filled, immediately (but very carefully) transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C and bake another 10-12 minutes, until filling is just set (if a toothpick can stand up in it, it’s done). If you see the shells start to puff up a bit, crack open the oven a little, and they should settle back down.
- You can let the tarts cool for a couple minutes and enjoy them while they’re still hot.
Notes
Nutrition
First time rough puff says
Thank you for this recipe!
So easy to follow. Never made a rough puff before and so surprised it turned out amazing.
Definitely making again.
Ro says
This is a great recipe, thank you so much! For future egg tarts, I was wondering:
1) Can the puff pastry dough be made ahead of time and chilled in refrigerator until use?
2) Since the dough has little water content, can it be frozen? Hoping it can, since puff pastry is sold in groceries as a frozen item.
Thanks again!
Sarah says
Hi Ro, 1) Yes, absolutely. 2) Yes, it can be frozen!
Ro says
Thanks so much Sarah :) Gonna make these now as part of a Chinese luncheon to impress the in-laws
Mean Meatball says
It turned out amazing, the crust is nice and crispy, but the tart could have a wee more sugar! But it was success my parents loved them and so did we.
Sarah says
Glad you and the family enjoyed! I like my egg tarts lightly sweet, but feel free to add more sugar!
June says
Hi, Sarah.
Please clarify the temperature instructions for the recipe.
In Step 5. of the instructions, it says to preheat the oven to 400 degrees F/200 degrees C. Once the tarts are filled, immediately (but very carefully) transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C and bake another 10-12 minutes, until filling is just set (if a toothpick can stand up in it, it’s done).
As part of your June 11, 2020 response to Corns, you state: Did you remember the step about lowering the temperature to 350 degrees immediately when they go into the oven?
Should the tarts be baked at a combination of 400/350 or all at 350 (after the initial preheating to 400)?
Thank you very much.
Sarah says
Hi June, apologies for my mistake in that comment! Follow the recipe as written. In the midst of answering so many comments, I think I confused this one with a different recipe when I answered that question––will adjust my comment accordingly. Thanks for checking!
June says
Thank you for clarification, Sarah. This is a great recipe – I love egg tarts and didn’t think they would be so easy to make. I love your website! I’ve also made the cocktail and pineapple buns and I have to say, they were better than the bakery’s!
Looking forward to trying more recipes. Thank you!
Cuc says
Hi! I used your recipe but went with the store bought pastry route. While the custard tasted awesome and was silk smooth, it rose quite a bit while baking. It didn’t stay that way but it did not come out nice and flat like in your picture. I used a cupcake pan. I saw you that you recommended a muffin tin, which I believe to be about the same. Do you know why this happened? TY!
Sarah says
Hi Cuc, storebought puff pastry is meant to puff up quite a bit, because it has flaky layers, where steam gets trapped, causing them to puff up. That’s why it’s not ideal for this recipe. You can try docking it (poking the pastry with holes using a fork) and pre-baking it, but it will still puff up quite a bit. Next time, I would try the pastry recipe as written!
Nancy says
Hi!! My sister and I have been loving your dim sum recipes!! With success, we’ve made the baked char sui baos, steamed custard buns, milk bread and pineapple buns (both plain and with the custard fillings!!) The recipes are so spot on!! They all taste fantastic!! We plan on making these egg tarts next week. We want to buy some of the tart pans…. May I ask what size in diameter are the tart pans that you used to yield the 24 egg tarts? TIA!
Sarah says
Hi Nancy, the small tart pans here were about 2.5 inches in diameter. You can also use a standard 12 cup muffin tin.
Jess says
I made this in the 12-cavity cupcake tin and like others have mentioned it made only half as many. My question is since it’s not as shallow should the baking time be much longer? I baked it to the directions and for some reason when I bit into them they sort of weeped drops of water is the the best way I can describe it. Is that from the hot water mixture maybe? Just curious as this was my first try. Will definitely work at it again some time. Thanks!
Sarah says
Jess, I think it probably was the case that they were a little too deep. I would only build the crust so it reaches about half way up the muffin tins, so they remain relatively shallow if that makes sense!
Corns says
Hi Sarah,
I tried making the egg tart and it was great, everybody enjoyed it especially with my very delicate in-laws. Its just that why is the egg tart seems to rise so high when baking and when I remove it from the oven the surface/custard wrinkled? I follow every instructions that is written. If I will make the dough in advance, can I put the dough in the tin already then freeze? Can I make the custard in advance? What is the reheating instruction for the egg tart? Thank you. More Power. Stay safe.
Sarah says
Hi Corns, you can absolutely prepare the dough in teh tins and freeze them. I wouldn’t make the custard in advance, though. As for the reheating instructions, a few minutes in a toaster oven at 325 degrees should do the trick.
As for the wrinkling on the surface of the custard, I think the oven is too hot (the custard should cook relatively slowly and gradually). DId you remember the step about lowering the temperature to 350 degrees after they’ve baked for 15 mins? If you did do that, perhaps your oven runs on the hotter side! Start the oven at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and lower it to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C).
Corns says
Hi Sarah,
Thank you very much for your advice. I shall be making it again by tomorrow because Im planning to making it into a small business especially with the current situation right now due to the covid 19 virus. And lastly, Im using a store bought puff pastry for the tart shell, do I need to prick it with fork the bottom of the shell then put it in the oven before placing the custard or put the custard in the shell before putting it in the oven? Which is much better. Thanks a lot, Sarah. Stay safe.
Lindsay says
These were great thank you for the recipe!
Sarah says
You’re welcome, Lindsay!
Jessica says
I tried this today and it tasted great – but when it took it out of the oven I noticed it flopped from the dome shape and then caved in with some bubbles. I did strain it through a strainer. What could I have done differently?
Sarah says
Hi Jessica, that is a bit odd. I would say to whisk the custard less vigorously next time, and perhaps tap the bowl (on a soft wood surface preferably, like a cutting board) before straining to pop any significant air bubbles.