Hong Kong-Style Egg Tart Recipe

Hosting a brunch, but want to keep it simple with finger foods? These Hong Kong-style egg tarts are the perfect thing to serve. Recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe and says, "Egg tarts taste like a combination [between] quiche and custard. They are savory from the eggs, but are slightly sweet like a dessert. They are a nice addition to an entertaining spread, where you want to serve finger foods, and avoid using silverware. You can make them in all sizes, but I love making these mini versions because you can use a standard mini muffin tin — no special tart molds needed," Hahn shares. 

These Hong Kong-style egg tarts pair nicely with mini banana muffins, small pastries, fruit kabobs, and fresh strawberries. It's no wonder that egg tarts are a popular item sold in Hong Kong's coffee shops and restaurants. Read on to learn how to make these simple egg tarts.

To make this recipe, you only need 7 ingredients, and most of them are kitchen staples — sugar, eggs, milk, water, vanilla extract, and cooking spray. Rather than make the flaky crust by hand, we're going to use a box of thawed puff pastry sheets. "Using the pre-made puff pastry sheets is a big time saver, plus they really do a great job of giving us that light and flaky crust. You will find them in the frozen section, and they usually come 2 sheets to a box," Hahn shares.

Start by preheating the oven to 350 F. Lay out the first thawed puff pastry sheet on a large cutting board. Place a glass or jar lid that is about 2 ½ inches in diameter on the dough, and press down firmly. Take a sharp knife, and trace around the edge of the lid to create a dough circle. You should be able to get 9 circles out of each puff pastry sheet. When you are done cutting the circles from both sheets, roll up the remaining scraps into a ball, then roll them out flat with a rolling pin to cut out 6 more circles. We need a total of 24 circles, which is the standard number of spaces in a mini muffin tin. 

Spray the muffin tin with cooking spray, and press each dough circle into the bases and sides of each tin. To make the egg filling, add the sugar and hot water to a medium bowl. "If you have a large batter bowl with a spout, this will make it easier for pouring into the mini crusts," Hahn shares. Stir the mixture to dissolve the sugar, and let it cool for 5 minutes. Then, add the eggs, milk, and vanilla, and stir well with a whisk. When the mixture is well blended, pour the mixture into the puff pastry crusts. "The egg mixture will rise quite a bit when it is cooking, and then while it cools, it will deflate, so I like to fill the crust shells as much as possible to compensate for this," Hahn remarks.

Now, it's time to bake the egg tarts. Hahn places the muffin tin on a large baking sheet to capture any spillage. Bake for 30 minutes, or until you see the tops browning, and the centers puffing up. Remove from the oven, carefully take each tart out of the muffin tin, and place on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Now, the Hong Kong-style muffin tarts are ready to serve. The tarts are best eaten the same day, but you can store leftovers in a sealed container for up to 3 days in the fridge.