Hong Kong Egg Tarts {Dan Tat 蛋挞 – A Complete Guide}

Dim sum-style Hong Kong egg tarts are a must-try light and flaky, custard-filled pastry. Learn to bake authentic Chinese egg custard tarts with a fool-proof recipe, easy-to-follow steps and essential tips.

I’m so excited that one of the most iconic Chinese pastries of all time, the Hong Kong style egg tart (dan tat 蛋挞) has finally made it to the blog. This is a recipe most often requested by readers, and I’ve been working hard to deliver on it!

I’m sharing a tried and tested recipe that you can rely on to make and enjoy your favourite dim sum-style egg tarts. Made with everyday pantry ingredients so you can bake them up whenever you’re craving a light sweet snack 😝.

this recipe

The best part? Skip the drive, walk, or bus ride to your local Chinese bakery or dim sum restaurant! These homemade egg tarts will taste just as good, but I’d dare say, even better. They are wonderfully scrumptious with their crisp and flaky tart crust and a melty, sweet creamy custard that will have you reaching for more.

I’ve made the recipe and method easy to follow, even for beginner bakers. The process may look overwhelming at first, but I’ll show you how easy it actually is to make Chinese egg tarts from scratch.

To this end, I’ve included a very detailed and complete step-by-step guide, including common troubleshooting tips to ensure you get the best result. These egg tarts do take a bit of effort and time (3 – 4 hours). The end result, however, is totally worth the effort!

Why this recipe

I’ve struggled with many recipes and methods of preparation, but it was Mrs Leong Yee Soo’s recipe published in her cookbook titled ‘The Best of Singapore Cooking’ that matched the texture and flavour of the egg tarts I enjoyed so much in Hong Kong.

It achieves the hallmark of a truly authentic Chinese egg tart – a crisp, delicate, and flaky tart crust and a smooth, creamy custard that simply melts in the mouth.

For months, I did a lot of taste-testing eating nothing but empty tart shells. I love how this tart shell itself is so flavourful. The crust tastes like a lightly salted shortbread cookie. It’s crisp, light, and wonderfully flaky with a delicious biscuit-like crunch.

The egg custard melts-in-the-mouth – it’s light, not too sweet, luscious and creamy at the same time with a subtle hint of vanilla that masks any eggy-ness.

What are Hong Kong egg tarts?

Popularised by dim sum restaurants, Chinese bakeries and Hong Kong-style cafes or “tea restaurants”(called cha chaan tengs 茶餐厅 in Chinese), Hong Kong egg tarts are small puff pastry tarts filled with sweet egg custard. These small, round-shaped tarts are usually no more than 3 inches in diameter.

Originating in the early 20th century in Guangzhou (Canton), these egg tarts were inspired by the British custard tart and the Portuguese pastel de nata.

At the time, Guangzhou was the only port accessible to European trade. This led to deep and long-lasting influences on Cantonese cuisine, and Guangzhou restaurants started creating egg tart varieties with a lard-based puff pastry crust and a filling similar to steamed egg pudding (燉蛋). Thus, giving rise to the variety of Chinese egg tart we see today.

Hong Kong vs Portuguese egg tarts

Today, two main varieties of Chinese egg tart dominate the culinary landscape in China and the rest of the world – the Hong Kong egg tart and the Portuguese egg tart .

How do these two types of egg tarts compare?

What is Chinese puff pastry?

Hong Kong-style egg tarts (dan tat 蛋挞) are made with a Chinese puff pastry dough. This is similar to Western puff pastry, but distinctly different as well. Like traditional puff pastry, Chinese puff pastry is also made with a laminated dough.

“Laminating” dough is a process of folding fat into a dough multiple times to create very thin alternating layers of fat and dough.

Here’s how traditional puff pastry works. Puff pastry is made with dough called a détrempe and butter or other solid fat called the beurrage. The butter is wrapped inside the dough (or vice versa), and repeatedly folded and rolled out before baking.

During baking, the fat melts forming gaps between the layers which are pushed apart by the water turning into steam. Thus, creating many layers of paper-thin crust.

Instead of a dough (détrempe) and solid fat (beurrage), Chinese puff pastry uses two types of dough – a water dough (similar to detrempe) and an oil dough (in place of beurrage). 

The oil dough is made with flour and a solid fat, traditionally lard. These days, lard is often substituted with shortening or butter. By itself, the oil dough has a mild and subtle flavour. It is the water dough that improves its taste profile with a flavourful fat, usually butter, as well as yolk, sugar, and salt. 

The process to make Chinese puff pastry is similar to traditional puff pastry. The oil dough is wrapped inside the water dough, then rolled and folded a few times to create a laminated dough with many layers.

In a hot oven, these alternating layers puff up as the fat melts and water releases steam, creating a crust with distinct, delicate layers.

Ingredients to make Hong Kong style egg tarts

What I love about making egg tarts is that they use ingredients that are regularly stocked in a house pantry.

Here’s what you need:

• plain flour. This is your regular all purpose flour which is used to make the two types of dough in Chinese puff pastry – the oil dough and water dough.
  
• butter-flavour shortening (I use CRISCO) or lard. To achieve light, crisp and flaky layers, I recommend using a combination of shortening (in the oil dough) and butter (in the water dough). I do not recommend using only butter in both doughs. This may over-enrich the dough and taste too rich.
  
  For this reason, I recommend using CRISCO butter-flavour shortening. It strikes a taste-texture balance that works perfectly for Chinese puff pastry. (CRISCO claims it’s butter flavour shortening is free of trans-fat).
  
• unsalted butter. Butter enriches the puff pastry dough with its fat and flavour. It is the fat used to make the water dough. For this recipe, please use unsalted butter as there is added salt in the recipe.
  
• eggs. Eggs help flavour the puff pastry dough and are the main ingredient for the custard filling. I use large eggs, each weighing 60 – 62 grams (2 – 2.25 ounces) with shell.
  
• sugar. White sugar is added to both the pastry dough and egg custard filling to lightly sweeten.
  
• salt. Salt is added to both the oil dough as well as the water dough to improve the overall flavour of the pastry dough. It adds salty notes to the pastry, balancing the sweetness of the custard filling.
  
• custard powder (I use Bird’s). Custard powder or instant custard powder is a flavouring ingredient (mainly vanilla) for the egg custard mixture. It also adds a yellow tinge which makes the custard mixture look richer. You can also add a few drops of yellow food colouring if desired.
  
• condensed milk. Sweetens and enriches the custard mixture with a milky flavour.
  
• vanilla extract. Use pure, unsweetened vanilla extract for the best flavour. I highly recommend Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract. If you use artificial vanilla essence, you’ll want to use twice as much as the extract.

Equipment

Making Hong Kong egg tarts does require a few specific tools. The puff pastry dough can be done completely by hand but I like to use a stand mixer because the dough does become very sticky to work with.

Here’s what you need:

• mini tart moulds or mini aluminium-foil tart moulds (disposable)
  (I use tart moulds with a top diameter 7 cm / 2.76″ x depth 2 cm / 0.79″ x bottom diameter 5 cm / 2″)
• round fluted cookie cutter (I use 3.5″ / 9 cm size). If you have a set of cookie cutters, check if you have a size that’s slightly bigger than the top diameter of your tart mould. I like to use fluted cutters because they make the edges look pretty.
• mini rolling pin
• silicon baking mat
• flexible dough scraper
• pastry brush

How to make Hong Kong style egg tarts

In this section, I will guide you through the process of making egg tarts. Please take note of the detailed tips highlighting what to look out for when working through the steps.

Step 1. Make the oil dough

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, paddle the flour and salt for 10 seconds. Add the shortening (or lard).
2. Paddle at low speed until the dough comes together, about 30 seconds – the oil dough will be very soft and sticky.
3. Scoop it out with a dough scraper and place it between two sheets of plastic wrap. Flatten with a rolling pin to level the surface.
4. Bring in the edges with a dough scraper or ruler until you get a neat rectangle measuring 5″ x 6″ / 13 cm x 15 cm. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
   
   What to look out for: If you use butter in place of lard or shortening, do not chill the oil dough for too long. Otherwise, the dough will get too stiff. It should be cool but pliable – not stiff but not overly soft. A rule of thumb is to have both the oil dough and water dough at a similar consistency.

Step 2: Make the water dough

1. In the same stand mixer bowl (no need to wash), paddle the flour, salt, and sugar at low speed for about 10 seconds. Add the cold butter and paddle until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
2. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg yolk and iced water.
3. Switch to a dough hook. At low speed, add the egg mixture to the flour mixture one tablespoon at a time. Once the rough dough comes together in a ball, scoop it out onto a lightly floured surface.
4. Gently knead a few rounds until the dough is smooth. Flatten into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
   
   What to look out for: Like the oil dough, chill the water dough only long enough to cool the butter but remain pliable. Remember, you should have both the oil dough and the water dough at a similar consistency.

Step 3: Wrap the oil dough inside the water dough

1. On a generously floured work surface or silicon baking mat, roll out the water dough to a rectangle 8″ x 11” / 20 cm x 27 cm (about the size of a standard letter).
2. Picture the dough in three equal sections or thirds- a top, middle, and bottom. Place the oil dough over the top and middle sections of the water dough.
3. Fold the bottom section over the middle section.
4. Fold the top section over the middle section, like folding a letter to fit an envelope. Press the edges firmly to seal. This prevents the oil dough from spilling or seeping out. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
   
   What to look out for: Roll out the dough to the stated dimensions – this will ensure the dough is at the ideal thickness. It will also be easier to roll and fold at this size. If the dough gets too sticky, lightly dust the rolling pin and worktop with flour as needed.

Step 4: Make the egg custard filling

While the dough chills, prepare the custard filling:

• Mix custard powder with 1½ teaspoons of water. Add beaten egg and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove any lumps.
• Combine sugar, condensed milk, and 227 grams (8 fluid ounces) of water in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat to dissolve the sugar – do not let the mixture get hot. Gradually pour the warm milk mixture into the custard mixture, stirring with a spoon as you go. 
• Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat for 3 minutes, stirring all the time. Set aside to cool – this will help prevent bubbles in the custard during baking.

Step 5: Laminate the dough (Total of 3 rolls and folds)

1. First fold: Place the dough with the short side facing you. With a lightly floured rolling pin, press lightly on the dough at intervals to stretch out the dough.
2. Gently roll to the original rectangle size: 8” x 11” / 20 cm x 27 cm.
3. Fold the bottom third over the middle third.
4. Bring the top down over the middle. Press the narrow edges firmly to seal. This completes the first fold. Refrigerator for 30 minutes.
5. Second and Third folds: Repeat the above steps twice to complete the second and third folds. Always start with the short side facing you and the seam side up. Refrigerate for 30 minutes after completing each fold.
   
   What to look out for: Before rolling out the chilled dough, make sure the dough is cool but pliable – not stiff but not overly soft. If it is too cold, the butter will be hard and can break or separate when you press and roll it out. If the dough is too hard, let it sit at room temperature until it becomes more malleable.

After the final chill, cut the tart dough in half (see picture below). You should see distinct layers in the tart dough, not quite as clear as in Western puff pastry but still evident.

If not present, it means that the oil dough, water dough, or both, could have been too warm or too soft. The layers will end up mashing together easily so there isn’t a neat separation of layers.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to salvage a dough that’s too soft once it’s been rolled out.

Step 6: Cut out rounds and line the tart moulds

• On a lightly floured worktop, roll out the tart dough to 3 mm / 0.1″ thickness. With a fluted cutter, cut rounds slightly larger than your tart moulds.
  
• Grease the tart moulds with a pastry brush. Press the cut round into the mould until the sides are 1-2 mm past the rim (the pastry will shrink and lose a bit of height as it bakes). Note: If trapped bubbles appear at the base of the pastry, prick with a sharp metal skewer.
  
• With the leftover tart dough, stack the pieces in a flat pile but do not knead – roll out the dough to 3 mm / 0.1″ thickness. Cut as many rounds as you can and line the tart moulds. Repeat with any remaining dough as needed.
  
• Place the lined tart moulds on a baking sheet (do not fill in with the custard mixture). Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until cold to the touch.

Step 7: Fill and Bake

While the lined tart moulds are chilling, start preheating the oven (top and bottom heating mode) to 200°C (392°F) with an oven rack placed in the middle position. 

• Give the custard mixture a good stir before filling the tart shells (the condensed milk tends to settle to the bottom).
  
• Spoon the custard mixture into the tart shells until half full (depending on the size of tart moulds used, this may be between 1½ – 2 tablespoons). Note: If using a measuring cup with a pouring spout, pour from a position as close as possible to the tart shells. This will help minimize air bubbles. Prick any bubbles on the surface with a toothpick or metal skewer.
  
  What to look out for: Do not over fill, otherwise the custard will rise and may overflow during baking. This effectively seals the edges of the tart shell and prevents it from separating into its delicate layers. Too much filling could also cause the tart shell to bake up soft/soggy.
  
• Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 135°C (275°F). Continue baking for another 7 – 10 minutes or until the custard sets and the tart shells turn golden brown. The custard is cooked when the sides are set and only the centre jiggles. Test with a toothpick inserted into the centre – when the toothpick stays upright, the custard is done.
  
  What to look out for: The custard will swell and dome the longer it bakes – this is normal. However, it is also a sign that the custard is getting very hot so test the custard for doneness. Once the egg tarts are out of the oven, the custard will dip down as it cools.
  
• When done, remove from the oven and let tarts cool in the moulds until firm enough to transfer to a wire rack. Set the cooled tarts in paper cups or paper liners. Serve hot or warm. Meanwhile, if you have another batch of tarts to bake, remember to bring the oven back up to 200°C (392°F).
  
  Note: The tart shells and custard will be too fragile to handle immediately when just removed from the oven so they need to cool in the moulds for about 5 – 7 minutes.