Make your own egg tarts at home with our egg tart recipe! Made with eggy custard filling and a flaky pastry, egg tarts are a classic and favourite at dim sum restaurants. You can easily find them in Hong Kong, China, and some Southeast Asian countries. The sweet egg tarts can be eaten at breakfast, brunch, and as a snack. It goes incredibly well with hot tea; we recommend eating it with black tea or Hong Kong milk tea.
Meal: Breakfast, Snack Cuisine: Chinese
Preparation time: Cooking time: Total time: Yield: 16 servings
Ingredients
250g of all-purpose flour
0.75g of salt (⅛ tsp)
170g of unsalted butter, slightly softened
30ml of cold water
100g of granulated sugar
235ml of hot water
120ml of evaporated milk
3 large eggs, at room temperature
5ml of vanilla extract
Equipment
3 large bowls
Cling wrap
1 rolling pin
1 whisk
1 fine-meshed strainer
1 measuring cup or pitcher
1 oven
16 mini tart tins
1 4-inch round cookie cutter
Toothpicks
Directions
Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.
Cut the softened butter into small cubes (it’s best to leave it at room temperature instead of microwaving it).
Add the butter cubes into the large bowl. Break the butter up with your fingers quickly to prevent the butter from melting. The butter should look like coarse crumbs covered in flour.
Add cold water to the butter mixture and knead the dough together. The dough should be a little cracked and dry.
Wrap the dough in cling wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to allow the flour to absorb more moisture.
Lightly flour your working top, and roll the dough into a 15 x 38 cm rectangle. Roll out the dough quickly to avoid overworking it.
Fold the top third of the dough down towards the centre, and then the bottom third up and over. Turn the dough 90 degrees, then roll it out to a 15 x 38 cm rectangle again. Fold again, cover, and chill for an hour.
In the meantime, make the filling. Dissolve the sugar in a large bowl with hot water and cool to room temperature.
Whisk the evaporated milk, eggs, and vanilla extract in another large bowl. Mix in the sugar water. Strain the filling through a strainer and into a measuring cup or pitcher.
Preheat the oven to 190°C and position the rack on the lower third level.
Roll out the dough (5mm thick) and cut it with the round cookie cutter.
Fit each piece into the mini tart tins. A lip should go over the tin’s top as the tart shell shrinks while baking.
Re-roll the excess dough and cut more circles with the cookie cutter. You should have 16.
Pour the filling into the tart shells, and each one should be 3/4 full.
Immediately and carefully transfer the pan into the oven, reduce the temperature to 180°C, and bake them for 26 to 29 minutes. The filling is set when a toothpick can stand up in it.
Lastly, let the egg tarts cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Egg Tart Pointers
To make a flaky and buttery pastry remember to use room temperature butter. The butter must remain soft. If the butter starts to melt into a liquid, it needs to be refrigerated again. Note that since you are breaking the butter with your hands, you should mix it as quickly as possible as your body temperature will melt the butter. You can also make the dough ahead of time. Just cling wrap the dough or insert it into the tins and leave to refrigerate overnight.
Missing some ingredients?
We hope this egg tarts recipe has inspired you to make egg tarts at home! Before you begin your baking process, make sure you have all the ingredients you need. Too busy for a trip to the supermarket? No worries, pandamart has the butter, eggs and flour you need.
