Just like many other cities in the world, Hong Kong is filled with plenty of delicious food and snacks. And if we had to pick one of the many popular desserts that's not only loved by locals but travellers as well, it would definitely have to be their egg tart. Made with a flaky pastry that crumbles beautifully and a to-die for creamy filling, everything about this iconic pastry hits the right notes when it comes to flavour, and texture. While you won't be able to fly to Hong Kong right in this moment, you can certainly create them yourself at home! With this easy halal Hong Kong-style egg tart recipe, you're one step closer to savouring these delectable treats.
Ingredients (yields 12)
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ½ cup + 1 tbsp sugar
- 14 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 1 cup hot water
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup milk, room temperature
- ¾ tsp vanilla essence
Equipment
- 12 individual tart pans or a standard 12 cup muffin tin
Directions
- In a bowl, combine flour, salt and 1 tablespoon sugar. Cut the butter into pieces, add it to the flour mixture and roughly incorporate everything together. Keep little chunks of butter still visible.
- Add cold water and mix all the ingredients until a dough forms. Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
- Lightly flour a clean working space, and place your dough onto it. Gently knead it and shape it into a neat rectangle. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough away from you to form a long rectangle. Try not to overwork the butter streaks.
- Fold the top third of the dough down to the centre, then the bottom third up and over it. Quarter turn the dough, either left or right, and roll it out again - this time three times the length. Repeat the folding process, then cover it with plastic wrap and let it chill for 30 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, work on the filling. Dissolve ½ cup sugar in some hot water, then let it cool to room temperature. Whisk eggs and milk together, followed by the sugar water and vanilla essence. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer until you get a smooth filling.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Roll out the dough and cut out circles from it to fit your pans or muffin tins. Press each circle into them and fill each egg tart shell. Check out the video below to see how they should look like:
- Bake the egg tarts for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180 degrees C and bake for another 10 to 12 minutes or until the filling is just set. You can test this by seeing if a toothpick can stand on its own in the middle of the egg tart.
- Remove the egg tarts from the over and set it aside to cool for a few minutes. Serve while still warm and enjoy!
Now that you know how easy it is to make Hong Kong-style egg tarts, grab your friends and family who have been feeling the travel nostalgia and make these goodies for a true treat and taste of authentic Hong Kong flavours ?