Chinese Egg Tarts

These creamy Chinese Egg Tarts are ultra-light and easy to make with a lightly sweet custard baked into flaky pastry shells.

With the Lunar New Year upon us, I wanted to share a recipe I've made in the past that has become something of a tradition for me to make in celebration.

Egg tarts are a popular dessert in Chinese cuisine and one that I have come to enjoy due to how approachable they are to make, and how light they are for dessert. They truly are the perfect end to a big celebratory meal.

Below I'll be discussing some ingredient notes, a few substitutions where necessary, and of course, the recipe. Also, be sure to check out our video above the recipe card for a complete look at the process from start to finish.

Recipe Overview - What to Expect

You may be wondering what egg tarts taste like. Some have said they look like coconut custard pies but these are a more simple dessert and very straightforward.

Taste & Texture

Chinese custard is very different from European custard. However, the result is very similar. It's creamy and smooth but is a bit firmer than the pudding custard we may be more familiar with.

In contrast to European custard, today's recipe calls for whole eggs not just egg yolks, and in place of whole milk, we use evaporated milk, which gives it a slightly richer taste and texture.

Difficulty Level

Despite their elegant appearance, this is one of the most effortless custards I've ever made. No stovetop cooking or pressing thick pudding through a sieve. It is an easy whisk-and-pour method that bakes into a delightfully rich result. These tarts are accessible to both beginner and veteran bakers alike.

Preparation Process

You can make the pastry dough a day in advance if you like to save some time, but the process isn't very time-consuming. Just make sure to time the dough so you can allow the dough to chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out.

Ingredient Checklist

Note that for today's recipe, I will not be sharing recipe variations because that changes the identity of this dessert and I feel adding mix-ins or various toppings can also change its authenticity. However, there are a couple of ingredient substitutions you can make for dietary reasons that won't alter the recipe too much.

Pastry Dough

• All-purpose flour - If you are looking for a gluten-free recipe for pastry dough, you can substitute all-purpose flour with an all-purpose gluten-free blend. In the past, I've recommended Krusteaz and King Arthur.
• Powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar) - When I'm making a pastry crust I prefer powdered sugar for two reasons: a) it produces a more tender result; b) it absorbs better with the blended flour and butter than granulated sugar.
• Chilled butter - I like an all-butter crust but this can rely on preference. Occasionally I will use a blend of butter and shortening in a 1:3 ratio. Butter just produces a beautiful flaky crust whereas I have found that shortening can make the crust crumbly and flaky. So, opt for all butter and make sure it's always chilled beforehand.
  • Tip: Cube the chilled butter before blending it. It makes the process easier and the butter is more evenly distributed.
• Salt - Just a pinch to bring out the flavors. Trust me, it does make a difference.
• Ice water - You only need about 2-3 tablespoons to bind the dough and shape it. Make sure the water is very cold. I like to drop an ice cube in a cup of water and then measure what I need, but you don't want the butter to start to melt from handling it.

Egg custard

• Hot water - The custard gets separated into a two-part process. We begin by creating a simple syrup to dissolve the sugar which we will then whisk together with the egg mixture, so hot water is important.
• Granulated sugar - Unlike the crust, you want granulated sugar for the custard. It gets dissolved in hot water so you won't get any granules in your custard.
• Whole eggs - Beat the eggs really well. We're going to pour the mixture through a strainer before filling the tart shells, but we want to make sure the egg is beaten until smooth first.
• Vanilla bean - I like vanilla bean because it is more potent in flavor, but it's not necessary especially since the mixture gets strained. You can use pure vanilla extract just make sure it's high quality. Nielsen-Massey is my go-to.
• Evaporated milk - Richer than whole milk, evaporated milk works so nicely because it is essentially whole milk with about half of its water content removed, making it creamier and thicker.
  • Substitution: Can you use whole milk if you don't have evaporated on hand? Yes, of course. You can even use lactose-free whole milk. Do not use sweetened condensed milk. Condensed milk is much thicker than evaporated and is sweetened.
• Salt - Again, just a pinch of salt to bring out the sweetness a little more though this is only a lightly sweet dessert.

As you can see, these tarts are delightfully simple to make. For a more in-depth look check out our video below for the step-by-step process.

I hope you decide to give them a try this year in celebration of the Lunar calendar as we welcome the year of the rare wood snake. As it is symbolized, we hope this year is filled with healing, growth, and strength.

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And that is our recipe for Chinese Egg Tarts \. If you enjoyed this recipe, or have any questions or suggestions, be sure to let us know in the comments below. We always love hearing from you!

Happy Baking!

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