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
Jude says
Just made this. Awesome filling with flaky pastry. A lil bit too sweet for my liking but this recipe is a keeper
Sarah says
Glad you enjoyed them, Jude!
Kevin says
Great recipe I made it in muffin pan and the crust was a little too thick but delicious. How would you take it out of the aluminum tins? Do you flip it out and flip again on plate? Would the structure hold doing that? I would assume it will fall apart.
Sarah says
They are generally buttery enough to just slip out of the aluminum tins. Once cooled slightly, they don’t fall apart when you take them out. Thanks for trying the recipe, Kevin!