If you have ever had egg custard tarts and liked them, you simply must make these Hong Kong Egg Tarts! The egg is a symbol of fertility and is often enjoyed during the Chinese New Year.
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Hong Kong Egg Tarts
Photos of the tarts are for illustrative purposes only as sadly, the original photos were sadly unusable.
The egg tart is a popular pastry found in Greater China (comprising mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) and is an east-meets-west dessert deriving from the English custard tart and the Portuguese pastel de nata.
The origins of this pastry are said to be in China’s Guangdong province as a fusion between the traditional Cantonese steamed egg pudding and the English custard tart. The Zhen Guang Restaurant in Guangzhou is also credited with inventing the Chinese egg tart. – Wikipedia
Egg tarts were introduced to Hong Kong in the 19040s and are typically smaller than Guangzhou ones. They’re often served in twos or threes.
The egg tarts from Hong Kong have a glossy smooth top, and the ones from Macau are more like the Portuguese egg tarts with a caramelized top.
Having cooked both the English style and the pastel de nata in the past, the biggest difference from the Chinese version is the lack of spices.
But in spite of that, these Hong Kong egg tarts have a sweet and buttery pastry and are filled with a vanilla egg custard that will make your taste buds very happy!
Hong Kong Egg Tarts Recipe Tips
- When making the pastry make sure that your kitchen, countertop, and hands are cool so that the fat in the dough doesn’t become too soft.
- Use the tips of your fingers or a dough blender to blend the butter into the flour and sugar before adding the wet ingredients.
- If the dough is too wet and sticky, add more flour in small tablespoon increments. If it is too try, add ice cold water a tablespoon at a time. The dough should not be too dry nor sticky.
- Don’t overwork the dough or else it will become tough.
- Always rest the pastry in the fridge after handling it to allow the fat to firm up again. Form the pastry into a ball and cover with plastic wrap before placing in the fridge.
- Remove it 30–40 minutes before using to allow it to come to room temperature as it will be easier to work with.
- Don’t add too much flour to the work surface when rolling out your dough as it can dry the pastry out. Dust off excess flour before baking.
- You could roll it out between two layers of parchment paper or plastic wrap to avoid using flour at all.
- Roll dough to about one-eighth of an inch (3mm) and cut with a round cutter – either a straight edge or fluted – the choice is yours.
- Gently press the pastry rounds into a lightly greased muffin or tart pan.
- You could line the tin with cupcake liners if you like for easier removal and presentation.
- Alternatively, try these reusable egg tart molds.
- Make sure the filling is cold before pouring into tart cases so that it doesn’t melt the fat in the pastry and give you a soggy bottom!
- Preheat the oven and keep an eye on the egg tarts so that they don’t burn.
- All to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve a Chinese New Year Banquet!
You’ve made the dessert, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to make a full banquet for Chinese New Year!
- Appetizer: Fried Wontons
- Soup: Longevity Noodle Soup with Chicken Meatballs
- Beef Dish: Chili Beef with Noodles
- Chicken Dish: Chicken Chow Mein
- Pork Dish:
- Vegan Dish:Buddha’s Delight
- Vegetable Dish: Stir-Fried Chinese Vegetables
- Beverage:Jasmine Iced Tea
- Dessert:
There are500+ Recipeson The Purple Pumpkin Blogfor you to enjoy! Please feel free to check them out too.
Hong Kong Egg Tarts
Yield: 12
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Additional Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
If you have ever had egg custard tarts and liked them, you simply must make these Hong Kong Egg Tarts!
Ingredients
For the Pastry*
- 1 to 1½ cups flour
- ½ cup powdered sugar (icing sugar)
- ½ cup cold butter, cubed
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsps ice-cold water
For the Filling
- ¾ cup hot water
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 5 eggs
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5
- Sift 1 cupPlace 1 cup flour and the powdered sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the cubed butter.
- Using your fingertips or a dough blender/cutter, blend the butter, flour, and sugar to a coarse crumbly mixture.
- Add egg, vanilla extract, and ice-cold water into the mixture, mix until it forms a dough.
- If the dough is too wet and sticky, add more flour in small tablespoon increments. If it is too try, add ice cold water a tablespoon at a time. The dough should not be too dry nor sticky.
- Form dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- To make the egg filling, hot water into a bowl and add the sugar. Stir until dissolved then leave to cool.
- In another mixing bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Add evaporated milk and vanilla.
- Beat until well combined. Pour the milk mixture into the bowl with the cooled syrup and mix together.
- Strain into measuring jug/pitcher (for easy pouring) and place it in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- To assemble the egg tarts, roll out the dough to about one-eighth inch (3mm) thick and use a round cookie cutter to cut out 12 rounds. Use a cutter with a fluted edge for prettier tarts.
- Lightly grease a muffin or tart pan and gently press each cut round into each cavity. (For easier removal and better presentation, you can also line the pans with cupcake liners beforehand.)
- Pour the egg mixture into each tart shell to about 80% full, taking care not to overfill them.
- Bake the tarts in the preheated oven for about 15 - 20 minutes. Keep a watch on this so the pastry does not burn. When the filling rises, it’s usually set and ready. Test by inserting a toothpick which should stand up in the middle of the tart.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
*You could buy ready-made flaky/puff pastry or shortcrust dough to use in these tarts.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 216Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 116mgSodium: 109mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 0gSugar: 11gProtein: 6g
This site uses an outside source (Nutritionix) to provide estimated nutrition. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
