My family isn’t big on rituals but one thing was always certain — every Sunday we would go to dim sum with our extended family including my paternal aunts, uncles, and grandparents. And that also meant that every Sunday I would get to eat dan tat, or Hong Kong style egg tarts.
There are actually three main types of egg tarts that you can find in Hong Kong:
- Classic flaky egg tarts — Some will probably disagree that this is the “classic” version, but this is definitively the version I grew up with in Los Angeles (and while visiting my mom’s family in NYC). This style features a flaky pastry crust that’s distinct from European puff pastry. Its layers are a little drier and less greasy, making it the perfect complement to a soft custardy egg filling. In this version, that filling is just set making it glassy and super light.
- Cookie crust egg tarts — This version features the same filling as the first variant, but with a shortcrust-like exterior. To be honest I’ve had very few of these but I did notice they were incredibly popular in Hong Kong (more popular that I’d remembered from my previous trips) last year when I visited. They’re good, but to me they don’t stand up to their flaky cousins.
- Portuguese-style egg tarts — Because Macau was a Portuguese colony, it makes sense that they brought along their pateis de nata. These Portuguese-style egg tarts are now widely available in Hong Kong and feature a more European-style flaky crust which has been rolled into a spiral to achieve its layers, and a torched custard filling. The whole bite is super tasty but eats really differently from the “classic” version I grew up with, so I find these to be a bit too rich.
Dan tat, like a lot of pastries, are not necessarily a quick or easy thing to make, and to be honest in most situations you’re probably better off buying them from a trusted bakery. Still, nothing quite compares to an ultra ultra fresh egg tart — plus, knowing that you made them by hand makes them taste better. There are also a few short cuts you can take: Asian grocery stores like 99 Ranch sell frozen pastry shells, though I believe they’re usually of the “cookie” variety rather than flaky. That being said, I find this Chinese style of pastry to be a bit more forgiving to work with than its European cousin, so if you’re entirely new to pastry but want to dip your toes in, this might be a good place to start.
This recipe was adapted from All About Eggs by Rachel Khong, and the original recipe comes from the famous Yank Sing restaurant in San Francisco.
Dan Tat (Hong Kong Style Egg Tarts)
Ingredients
For the Oil Dough
- 90 g all purpose flour
- 6 oz unsalted butter room temp, but cool to the touch
For the Water Dough
- 90 g all purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 egg
Filling & Assembly
- 3 eggs
- 42 g evaporated milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- big pinch of salt
- 75 g sugar
- 170 ml water
Instructions
Make the Pastry Dough
- Combine 90 g all purpose flour and 6 oz unsalted butter by squishing the butter into the flour with your fingertips. Work quickly so it doesn't heat up too much. Knead it a few times until it's a cohesive ball, then wrap in plastic, flatten into a disc, and refrigerate 20 minutes.
Make the Water Dough
- Combine 90 g all purpose flour, 2 Tbsp water, and 1 egg. The dough should be very soft and slightly sticky. If it's too sticky, add a little more flour bit by bit. Wrap and refrigerate 20 minutes.
- Roll the water dough into a 10" square roughly. Pat or roll the oil dough into a rectangle about 10"x3". Place the oil dough in the center of the water dough, wrap the water dough around the oil dough, and pinch to close down the middle.
- Rotate the rectangle so the long side is facing you, then roll into a 10" square. Do a letter fold starting with the left third. Rotate 90degrees counter clockwise. Repeat this 2 more times for a total of 3 folds. On the last fold, bring the outside fourths to the center (so it's not a full letter fold). Roll out slightly, wrap tightly, and refrigerate overnight if possible.
- The next day, roll out the dough to 1/4" thick. Cut out ~3-3.5" rounds. Carefully press into LIGHTLY greased molds.
Make the Filling
- Mix the 170 ml water and 75 g sugar for the filling along with a big pinch of salt. Heat at intervals in the microwave until bubbling and completely dissolved. Set aside to cool until warm.
- Whisk together the 3 eggs, 42 g evaporated milk, and ½ tsp vanilla extract. Slowly stream the sugar water into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Strain everything (twice if you can) through a fine mesh sieve into a container with a spout.
Assemble & Bake
- Fill egg tarts about 80% full (DO NOT OVERFILL, they will puff/overflow slightly). Bake 10 min at 400F, then reduce to 350F and bake another 10-15 minutes, until the center is JUST set and still a bit wiggly when you shake the pan.