Chinese Egg Tart 蛋撻

Easy Chinese egg tart recipe that recreates this Dim Sum classic from the comfort of your home.

Chinese Egg tart, aka Dan Tat 蛋撻 , is one of most recognizable pastry items offered at any Chinese Dim Sum restaurant (i.e. Chinese tea house) around the world.

Originated from Hong Kong, these British-influenced dessert egg tarts come filled with a slightly sweet egg custard resembled the texture of a properly made Chinese steamed egg.

And if you’ve ever been to a Dim Sum house, you know there is nothing better than finishing up the Cantonese tradition with a freshly out of the oven egg tart and wash down with your favorite tea.

Like many dishes developed in the past, these egg tarts have also evolved into many different varieties over time. The most basic and classic version is made of buttery pie crust. Another popular variety is a tart made with flaky puffy pastry shell. Last but not least, there is Macau’s Portuguese tart aka Po Tat which comes with this distinctive caramelized custard in a puffy pastry shell.

The recipe I am sharing today is the classic version with pie crust shell. This also happens to be the least time-consuming version (and to my own preference, the best version). If you follow this recipe in conjunction with the notes, you should be able to recreate egg tarts close to that of Dim Sum restaurant quality!

When time allows I’d also like to share a puffy pasty and Portuguese tart recipe so please do check back some time later or subscribe to my blog so you won’t miss any new recipes.

By the way, this recipe is part of my previously announced egg recipe series. If you’re looking for inspiration on how to cook eggs, please be sure to check out all the recipes I am posting in this egg series.

Before we begin, I’d like to share a few helpful tips to help you succeed:

1. If you want to make these egg tarts first thing in the morning and serve as part of breakfast or brunch, you can pre-make both the pie crust dough and egg custard filling and store in the refrigerator overnight.
2. For the pie crust dough, use cake flour for that light and crunchy texture. All purpose flour works too but it’ll produce a slightly denser texture.
3. For the egg custard filling, use evaporated milk if possible. Evaporate milk will give you that ionic milky flavor similar to the ones from restaurants and bakeries. Otherwise whole milk works too but it lacks that deep milk flavor.
4. Depending on the size of your tart shell or muffin tray, this recipe yields 8x 3′ tarts or x 2″ tarts.

Have you ever been a Chinese Dim Sum restaurant or Chinese bakery?

If so what’s your favorite Dim Sum Dish or Chinese bakery item? Let me know in the comments below!

Print Recipe

Chinese Egg Tart

Yield: 8x 3' tarts or 11x 2' tarts

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 85 minutes (including 30 minutes of rest time)

Easy Chinese egg tart recipe with step-by-step instruction that recreates this Dim Sum classic from the comfort of your home.

Ingredients:

For Tart Crust:

• 100g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 25g powdered sugar
• 180g cake flour (AP flour works too - see note)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large egg (only 2tbsp egg is used)

For Egg Custard Filling:

• 2 large eggs (~110g) + unused eggs from the crust ingredient
• 100ml evaporated milk (whole milk works too - see notes)
• 150ml water
• 55g/4tbsp sugar

Directions:

To make the egg custard filling: in a sauce pot, combine the water and sugar and heat up over medium heat while whisking the mixture. Once the sugar completely dissolves, turn off the heat and let the syrup cool to room temperature.

In a mixing bowl, beat 3 eggs until smooth and free of lumps. Transfer 2tbsp of egg and aside for crust.

Add the cooled syrup and evaporated milk to the eggs. Mix with a egg beater until the mixture is incorporated and smooth. Filter the egg mixture through a mesh two times to minimize the amount of bubbles.

Cover and chill in the fridge until ready to use. The egg mixture can be made a day in advance and stored in the fridge overnight.

To make the tart crust: start by sifting together the cake flour and powdered sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add softened butter and 2tbsp of egg you set aside.

Mix with a egg beater until all ingredients are incorporated. Knead by hand until the mixture forms a smooth ball. About 2 minutes. Cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Take the dough out of the fridge and divide into 8 equal portion if using 3" tart shells (about 40g each).  Roll individual dough into a ball.

Using your palm or a tart shell, press the pastry ball into a flat piece. Line the flatten dough in the middle of tart shell, lightly press the dough into the tart cases.

Make sure the dough covers the entire tart shell and it's evenly distributed. Repeat this until all the dough balls have been molded into the tart shells.

Take the egg mixture out of the fridge. Transfer to a measuring cup for easier pour. Carefully pour egg mixture into each tart shell until it's 90% filled.

Bake tarts for 25-30 mins at 375 F or until the filling turns into custard. Remove the tarts from the oven and carefully remove from the shell. Serve these tarts hot with coffee or tea.

Notes and Tips:

1. If you want to make these egg tarts first thing in the morning and serve as part of breakfast or brunch, you can pre-make both the pie crust dough and egg custard filling and store in the refrigerator overnight.
2. For the pie crust dough, use cake flour for that light and crunchy texture. All purpose flour works too but it'll produce a slightly denser texture.
3. For the egg custard filling, use evaporated milk if possible. Evaporate milk will give you that ionic milky flavor similar to the ones from restaurants and bakeries. Otherwise whole milk works too but it lacks that deep milk flavor.
4. Depending on the size of your tart shell or muffin tray, this recipe yields 8x 3' tarts or x 2" tarts.