Dessert 甜品
Hong Kong Egg Tarts: Flaky Pastry Recipe (Dan Tat)
Experience the quintessential Hong Kong dim sum treat with these shatteringly crisp, multi-layered flaky egg tarts. Featuring a silky, golden custard nestled in a traditional 'oil-water' laminated dough, this recipe brings bakery-quality 'Dan Tat' to your table.
- Prep
- 120 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Serves
- 12
- Level
- Hard
- Per serving
- 210 kcal
Method
Cantonese Name & Meaning: These are called 'Daan Taat' (蛋撻). 'Daan' means egg, and 'Taat' is a phonetic loanword for 'tart.'
Prepare the Syrup: Dissolve 60g sugar in 125ml hot water. Let it cool completely to room temperature. This prevents the eggs from curdling later.
Create Water Dough: Combine all-purpose flour, 20g softened butter, and 60ml cold water (exactly 50% hydration). Knead for 5-8 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Wrap in plastic and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Create Oil Dough: Mix cake flour and 80g cold cubed butter. Use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until it forms a cohesive dough. Do not overwork. Wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
Lamination: Flatten the Water Dough and wrap the Oil Dough inside it like a parcel. Roll out into a long rectangle. Fold the bottom third up and the top third down (a standard 'letter fold'). Rotate 90 degrees, roll out again, and repeat the fold. You have now created the first set of layers. Wrap and chill for 20 minutes. Repeat this entire process twice more for a total of 27 theoretical layers.
Shaving & Shaping: Roll the final dough to 4mm thickness. Use a fluted cutter to cut 12 circles. Press each circle into a tart tin, using your thumbs to push the dough upward, creating roughly 12-14 pleats/ridges along the edge of the tin.
Custard Filling: Whisk the eggs and evaporated milk into the cooled sugar syrup. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve twice to remove any chalazae or air bubbles.
Baking: Place tart tins on a baking sheet. Fill each shell 80% full. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (400°F) for 15-20 minutes. If the custard starts to puff up too much, crack the oven door slightly. Bake until the pastry is golden and the custard is set (it should only slightly jiggle when moved).
Dim Sum Steamer Setup: While the tarts bake, prepare your bamboo steamer with 2 inches of water over medium heat. This is not for the tarts, but to steam your savory dim sum (like Har Gow or Siu Mai) so the entire meal finishes at the same time. The tarts are the only 'baked' component of the traditional spread.
Notes
Resting the dough is non-negotiable; it relaxes the gluten so the pastry doesn't shrink in the oven.
Straining the custard twice is the secret to the glass-like smooth surface found in high-end bakeries.
Ensure the sugar syrup is cold before adding eggs, or you will end up with sweet scrambled eggs.
Use a low-protein cake flour for the oil dough to ensure the layers are tender and shatteringly crisp rather than chewy.
