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Monday, May 31, 2010

Hong Kong Egg Tarts

I love Dim Sum and would love to go 'Yum Cha' which is our term for having a meal in the Dim Sum Restaurant, in any cities i visit.  Egg Tarts are one of the favorites to order.  The Egg Tarts served in most Dim Sum Restaurants are made with flaky pastry and they are so well baked with perfection, the pastry so light and flaky, the custard is smooth and sweet..  I have tried baking them but found it very challenging.  Have not been happy with my results and am still trying.  And, until i make some good flaky pastry egg tarts,  these Hong Kong  Egg Tarts which has shortcrust pastry, were accepted with glee by Renee,  she ate these in Hong Kong and loved them.




Ingredients:

Crust:

8 ozs all-purpose flour
2 ozs powdered/confectioner's sugar
a pinch of salt
4 1/2 ozs chilled butter - cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Custard Filling:
3 large eggs
4 ozs fine granulated sugar (take away 1 tbsp for lesser sweetness)
225 ml  hot water
3 fl ozs evaporated milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 drops of yellow yolk food coloring

 
 
 
 
 
Method:
 
To Make The Crust:
 
Put all-purpose flour, powdered sugar and salt into the food processor and pulse to mix.
 
Add in chilled cubed butter and pulse until fine breadcrumb like.
 
Add vanilla extract to beaten egg and then add into flour mixture with the machine running and stop machine as soon as the dough is formed.  Do not overmixed.
 
Remove and wrap dough with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using.
 
To Make the Filling:
 
Put sugar and water in a microwave-safe bowl and cook on high for 1 to 1/2 minutes and stir until sugar dissolves.
 
Add in evaporated milk, food coloring and vainlla, stir well.
 
Beat eggs lightly and add in to the above.
 
Pass through a very fine sieve, then fold a piece of kitchen towel into a strip and then run it over the top of the egg mixture to remove the bubbles.
 
Leave aside while you prepare the tarts.
 
To prepare the tarts:
 
Grease the tart moulds lightly.
 
Remove chilled dough, knead lightly and divide into small pieces(for my tart moulds, i use 3/4 oz).
 
Form dough into a tiny disk that will fit the base of the mould, then using the thumb, press dough so that it comes up the side of the mould.  Dough can be slightly higher than the mould but not too much - higher will allow more room for more filling but if too high, it will form a lip as this dough recipe is very soft.)
 
Repeat until all the tart moulds are formed.  Formed tart moulds can be kept in the fridge well wrapped until you need to bake them.
 
Preheat oven to 450 f and put the rack to the lowest rung of the oven.(Friends at sea-level can bake @ 400f)
 
Fill the formed tart moulds with egg filling to slightly lower than the rim, do not overfill.
 
Bake @ 450f for 10 mins and then lower the lower the heat to 400 f(sea-level @ 375 f) for another 15 minutes.  Baking time differs from the size of the tart moulds, so visual monitoring is important.  The crust has to be browned and the custard should not be overcooked.  The custard will puff slightly - yes slightly, then it is a sign for doneness,  you might have to remove some of the tarts which will cook faster than the rest as there are hot spots in most oven.  If  the custard puffs up and the crust is not brown enough, the oven door can be opened and left ajar for a while to lower the temperature in the oven, then it can be closed to finish the baking) 
 
Good luck and enjoy.
 
 
Serves

23 comments:

  1. WOW! These really look good! So professional!
    I think I will try making these when I'm off work!

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  2. I have just enrolled for a Dim Sum cooking class that features a flaky dough egg tart... now I wonder if I should withdraw from the class.. :) Your egg tarts do look really good!

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  3. wow.. i love egg tarts a lot too!!

    reanaclaire.com

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  4. Love these egg tarts. I bought here once and they don;t taste good to me. I think I have tasted too many very good ones back home. I think I have to make myself. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Beautiful! If I have half of your energy.

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  6. That really does look very good Lily.
    Well done! I never realized that difference in sea level affects the baking temperature.

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  7. mable

    denver is called the 'mile-high city' cos we are 5280 ft above sea-level and baking is quite challenging with attitute and no humidity does not help.

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  8. I actually prefer the this type of crust rather than the flaky one. I'm definitely going to try out your recipe. Thanks for the tips on getting rid of the bubbles! I was wondering why my filling always looked bubbly after it's baked.

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  9. Hi Lily,

    Should I just use egg yolk and not egg white? The egg white seems to make the custard puff up.

    Nick

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  10. paneristi_man

    You could be right about eggwhites but if you bake and watch out for overcooking the custard - if the custard should start to puff, open the oven door and move the tarts around as the oven has hot spots and heating is very uneven. Continue to cook until custard is still jiggling in the middle, residue heat will finish cooking the custard.

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  11. Hi Lily, I was searching online to see where I could purchase the tart moulds and I stumbled upon your site. Your egg tarts turned out so great! It must taste really good as well! So where did you find the tart moulds? I'm really having trouble finding them. Any advise?

    Thanks.

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  12. sandi

    write to julie from http://www.biodiversityherbs.com/customer-service/about-us.html. She has tart moulds for sale.

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  13. Just tried your recipe and its amazing! Mine didn't look exactly like yours but it came close. Next time I won't push the edges as high b/c I didn't have enough custard to fill to the top. Also my edges at the top were thinner. Is there a trick to get the top edge of the crust nice and even in thickness as yours? Thanks for sharing this great recipe!

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  14. judy

    What i do to get the crust as even as possible - after pressing the ball of dough to fit the mould, use another mould to press it down.

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  15. I just found your recipe and also have the same challenge that Sandy had regarding the tart mould. The site is now called browncookie.com and they have a set of fluted French tart Quiche pan that are 3" wide by .8" high. Are these the ones you ordered from them? Here is the link:
    http://www.browncookie.com/shop/pie-dishes-tart-pans/tart-pans/fluted-french-tart-quiche-pan.html

    Thank you!

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  16. Hi Auntie Lily,

    What can be wrong if my crust browns at the top and the custard still looks very runny?

    Is it normal to observe bubbling by the side of the mound? Is it because I used a muffin tin and had too much egg custard?

    Thanks for your help!!

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  17. anonymous

    Darker colored pans tend to brown faster and if you are using a muffin pan which is dark, then the high heat recommended will brown the crusts faster before the egg custard can be cooked through. Also the muffin pans are deeper, so the custard will be more and needed longer time to cook.

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  18. Dear Auntie Lily,

    Thanks for the advice! I will try lowering the temperature to 400F next time for a start, and lowering it to 350F instead. I will also make smaller crust using muffin tin. Thanks!

    I adore your website. I have tried your char siew recipe and browse your websites for inspirations on what to cook!

    Thanks alot!!

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  19. Dear Lily

    I tried your recipe over the wkend and glad to say that it turned out well. But i think mine looks more like a portuguese egg tart, maybe coz i didn't place the tray to the lowest rung of the oven and it's a bit brown on the custard. However, it taste good too...

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  20. Dear auntie Lily,
    Would you please let us know What's is a mould size/name from a website you mention? They have so many kinds.

    Thanks so much Auntie Lily. I love your site with so many wonderful dishes that I can learn.

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  21. anonymous

    this size mould in this link is perfect http://browncookie.com/products/fluted-french-tart-quiche-pan-set-of-6

    ReplyDelete