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'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 .
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 .