Hongkong-style egg tarts


Walking around the streets of HK , you couldn't help but see these popular tea time treats in most local bakeries . 

Egg tart or dan tat is a baked pastry filled with egg custard . There are two kind of crust , the shortcrust and puff pastry . But most egg tarts that I've eaten so far are made with sweet crust pastry , sort of like a shortbread but has a softer , melt-in-the-mouth texture . I don't like the puff pastry version of dan tat but I adore Potuguese egg tart , it's the caramelized topping that makes the difference , I think .

So where's the best egg tart in HK ? 

Check out the small local bakeries , they're all over HK , not only it's cheap , from $2.5 and in some bakeries , if you buy 5 pieces , they'll give you one for free  ^___^


It's been more than 3 years since I've made my first egg tarts . The first was so disappointing , very thin crust but the small consolation is the smooth egg filling though it tasted bland .

I seldom bake tarts and this is my 3rd attempt , so far . Much as I love this kind of dessert , I still struggle to make the pastry crust , yeah , need more practice . Making the crust for this recipe alone takes me nearly an hour ! The dough is easy to handle but I had to roll the dough several times , got fed up , roll the dough again into a ball and from there , grab a portion and pressed it into each tin . By the time I was into my 5th tin , I found my rhythm lol 


I used the recipe that I've found at Christine's Recipes book . Compare to the one in her blog , the ingredients of the custard/egg filling has a different amount . I've changed two ingredients of the pastry crust but used the egg filling recipe as is . It says in the book , the ( crust )  ingredients will make 16 tart shells and my modified pastry crust is enough for 8 tart tins , 3 square tins ( roughly the same size as the tart tins ) and 6 mini tins . The size of the tart tin listed in the book is too big , 1 1/2-inch deep is too much , mine is only 3/4-inch tsk ! The egg filling is not enough to fill all the pastry crust , I think the recipe of it in her blog is much more suitable .

I've seen the gorgeous tarts of Jeannie's / Baking Diary and I like the look of her crust . She used some condensed milk in pastry crust , so I decided to used condensed milk instead of sugar in this recipe . The result is soft , a bit crumbly melt-in-your-mouth pastry crust even if you manhandle the dough ! 

I'm not really happy with the color of some of the egg tart crust when I baked it yesterday , only 4 has this pretty golden brown crust . I think the oven is a bit off that day *sigh* Luckily , I still have 5 extra tart shells from previous day , so this morning , I made half of the egg filling recipe and this time I'm quiet satisfied with the color of all the crust .

The first 3 photos was taken today and the last 3 from previous day . 


Recipe adapted from Easy Recipes : A Selection of Simple Classics 

Makes 16 tarts 

For the egg tart filling :

2 eggs , at room temperature
70 grams caster sugar
150 ml hot water
75 ml evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

* Add sugar into hot water , stir until dissolved , let it cool down . Whisk eggs and evaporated milk together then  pour in the sugar water and add in vanilla , mix well . Strain mixture and set aside . 


For the crust :

200 grams all-purpose flour
25 grams cake flour
125 grams butter , at room temperature
55 grams caster sugar I used 60 grams condensed milk
1 egg , lightly beaten egg yolk only 
a dash of vanilla extract

* Beat butter and sugar condensed milk , over medium-speed , until light and fluffy . Add the whisked egg in 2 additions egg yolk and beat over low speed , add in vanilla . Sift in the flours in 2 additions , scraping down sides of the bowl between each additions , until well combined . Knead dough  for few seconds . 

* You can either roll out the dough and use the tart tin to cut it or get a portion and press dough into tin . Using your thumbs , starting from the bottom up to the sides , turn the tart tin in a clockwise or anti-clockwise motion in order to make an even tart shell . Trim away any excess dough . Repeat with the rest of the dough . 

* Preheat oven to 200°C . Position rack into the lowest part of the oven .

* Pour filling into each tart shell . Bake tarts for 10 to 15 minutes . Reduced the temperature to 180°C and if the filling is puffing up , open the oven door ajar , about 2 to 3 inches . Continue baking for another 10 to 15 minutes until filling is set or when toothpick inserted in the middle of the tart stands on its own .

Comments

  1. Oh beautiful egg tarts ! so long never make some, Thanks for sharing.

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  2. 照片很漂亮!!我喜欢第2张的,很有feel:)

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  3. your custard is so nicely baked.... i love the smooth topping :)

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  4. Anne, I love your egg tarts. Like a big family, from big to small and definitely very delicious!

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  5. These egg tarts look perfectly smooth and delicious. Love how smooth and cream the filling looks, Anne.

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  6. Hi Anne! I wish i could just grab one from the screen, I miss HK style dan tat. The flaky ones are more popular over here. I tried Christine's recipe once when i was craving for HK style tarts :)

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  7. I love these! They are one of my favorite desserts. Yours looks so professional!

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  8. Gimme the biggest tarts:D Looking at yours makes me want to bake some again but with water rationing this month, I better not mess up the kitchen! I too pinch the dough and mould it into the shell, much easier than rolling out first. Thanks for the mention:D

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  9. Oh yum. Love to try this out one day. Thanks for sharing with us. You made yours looking so......so.....yummy indeed!!

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  10. Ohh Anne mi postre favorito hermosas sus tartas,gracias tambièn su blog es muy bueno,abrazos.

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  11. Hi Anne,
    Lovely tarts! I am so going to make some Portuguese egg tarts soon! Have been meaning to make for ages, especially so during the last few weeks. As soon as my daughter's cough is gone, I'm making some! Meanwhile, I'll just grab the three from the first pic! :)

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  12. Hi Anne
    One of my new year resolution is to learn to do all kind of tarts.
    Egg tarts is one of the top list and I've bookmarked this :D

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  13. Your pictures are so beautiful! A lot of my friends who have visited HK say they have the best street food there. And your tarts prove they are right... these look totally delicious! :)
    -Abeer @ www.cakewhiz.com

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  14. Wow I need some egg tarts right away after looking at your post.

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  15. Sus tartas son muy bonitas.....Anne watermelon es sandìa en español es muy rica y su textura queda mejor agregando la mitad de la parte blanca de la sandìa mezclàndola con la pulpa roja,saludos.

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  16. Hi Anne
    I made this today. But they're all stuck in the mold. I crushed the tarts when trying to remove them :(

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  17. Ooooo I love egg tarts, they're my fav Chinese dessert. I asked Hubby to make some (I got no patience.. haha!) after the water rationing is over here in KL.

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  18. Hi Anne, love your egg tarts, it look really good. Yours very well baked and the eggs look so silky smooth. Love to have 2 pieces now. :))

    Best regards.

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  19. hi,
    what is the size of your tart tin? 3 inches across?
    thanks

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    Replies
    1. Hi JJ , 2 1/2-inch across and about 3/4-inch deep .

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  20. O God, love your blog, so many yummy memories... I hope to go home once more one day! Beautiful food!

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  21. Dan tats have two doughs - oil and water. This is not the true way to get the layered flaky crust.

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    Replies
    1. As I've written above , this version is a buttery pastry crust not flaky crust .

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