Hong Kong egg tarts
蛋挞
Hong Kong dan tat: small buttery shortcrust cases filled with a smooth, lightly sweet egg custard, baked until just set and glossy yellow on top.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: 蛋挞.
- Prep
- 50 min
- Cook
- 22 min
- Rest
- 45 min
- Total
- 1 hr 57 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Hong Kong egg tarts are not Portuguese pastéis de nata. The custard is never scorched; it is pale, glossy and smooth, made from eggs, sugar syrup and evaporated milk, and baked only until it stops wobbling. This version uses the cookie-like shortcrust of the old Hong Kong bakeries, rich with butter and a little icing sugar. Line small fluted tins, chill the cases, strain the custard twice, and bake hot at first to set the pastry, then cooler so the custard does not puff and crack. The flaky puff-pastry style of the cha chaan teng is given as a swap below.
What you'll need
10 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Pastry
- Custard
Ingredients
Pastry
- Wheat flour, plain200 g
- Butter, unsalted, soft120 g
- Icing sugar40 g
- Egg, beaten1
- Salt1 pinch
Custard
- Sugar70 g
- Water, hot150 ml
- Egg, large3
- Evaporated milk80 ml
- Vanilla, extract (optional)2½ ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Beat the butter, icing sugar and salt until smooth and pale, then beat in the egg. Add the flour and stir until it just comes together; do not knead. Flatten into a disc, wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
40 min
Step 2
Dissolve the sugar in the hot water and let it cool to room temperature. Whisk the eggs gently with the evaporated milk and vanilla without making froth, then stir in the cooled syrup. Strain twice through a fine sieve and skim off any bubbles.
15 min
Tip: Hot syrup will start to cook the eggs. Wait until it is cool.
Step 3
Heat the oven to 200°C. Divide the pastry into 12 pieces of about 32 g. Press each into a 7 cm fluted tart tin or a muffin-tin hole with your thumbs, pushing it up the sides so the rim stands a little proud. Chill the lined tins for 15 minutes.
25 min
Step 4
Set the tins on a baking tray and fill each case almost to the rim with custard. Bake at 200°C for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180°C for 10 to 12 minutes more, until the custard is just set with a slight wobble in the centre and the pastry is pale gold.
22 min200°C
Tip: If the custard starts to dome, open the oven door a crack for a minute. Puffed custard sinks and wrinkles.
Step 5
Cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then ease the tarts out with the tip of a knife. Eat them warm, the same day.
10 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 205 kcal
- Protein
- 4.5 g
- Carbs
- 22.9 g
- Fat
- 10.7 g
- Saturated fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 0.5 g
- Sugar
- 10.2 g
- Sodium
- 87 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Wheat
- Milk
- Eggs
- Vegetarian
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Shortcrust pastry → Ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry
Gives the flaky cha chaan teng style. Roll it up tightly into a log, cut 1.5 cm slices and press each into a tin with damp thumbs. Bake at 210°C for the first 10 minutes.
Evaporated milk → Whole milk
Lighter and less creamy, but it sets the same way.
Tips
- Do not overfill. Custard that spills over the rim glues the tart to the tin.
- They are at their best within two hours. Rewarm leftovers in a 160°C oven for 5 minutes, never the microwave.
- Fluted egg-tart tins are cheap in Chinese supermarkets and give the classic shape.
History & culture
Egg tarts are eaten warm from a paper bag on the way to work, with Hong Kong milk tea in the afternoon, and at the end of yum cha. Bakeries bring out fresh trays through the day and a queue forms for each one. The shortcrust and puff-pastry camps have argued for decades, without much heat.
Custard tarts are British, and the usual account is that they reached southern China through Guangzhou's department-store restaurants in the 1920s, where they were sold as a weekly special among the dim sum. Hong Kong's cha chaan teng took them up from the 1940s and 1950s. Macau's Portuguese-style tart, with its blistered top, is a separate arrival from the late 1980s.
Traditional — Shortcrust and puff pastry are both Hong Kong standards; shortcrust is written here because it is more forgiving at home. Fluted egg-tart tins are not in our equipment list. A 12-hole muffin tin works if you press the pastry about 3 cm up the sides.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Hong Kong egg tarts take?
1 hr 57 min all in — 50 min prep, 22 min cook, 45 min rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 12 tarts. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk, Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Nut-free.
7 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Kitchen scale, Oven, Baking tray.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 pinch.
How much sugar?
70 g of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Shortcrust pastry → Ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry. Gives the flaky cha chaan teng style. Roll it up tightly into a log, cut 1.5 cm slices and press each into a tin with damp thumbs. Bake at 210°C for the first 10 minutes. Evaporated milk → Whole milk. Lighter and less creamy, but it sets the same way.
Any tips from this recipe?
Do not overfill. Custard that spills over the rim glues the tart to the tin. They are at their best within two hours. Rewarm leftovers in a 160°C oven for 5 minutes, never the microwave. Fluted egg-tart tins are cheap in Chinese supermarkets and give the classic shape.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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