Saturday, January 31, 2009

Chinese Egg Tarts 蛋塔

I received my first food blog request from hfng last Friday, yipeee! Coincidentally, i found an egg tart recipe a few days before the request so I wanted to make them as soon as possible. I've already tried making egg tarts a year ago but it turned out to be a disaster. I don't know what went wrong (bad recipe, probably) but the custard filling completely puffed and dried up... like a fritatta. Yea, don't ask. So this time i found an online video on ytower to make sure i don't mess up on any of the steps. If you understand Chinese, go here. If not... you'll just have to settle for my crappy pictorial, hope it isn't too confusing XD. I cut the recipe in half and followed the video exactly and ended up with way too much leftover custard... had to make another batch of dough to use it up. So if you ask me, I'd say make thinner and deeper tart shells with lots of filling, you'll love it! Nothing brightens up a day more than a one-inch custard egg tart. *slurp*

Chinese Egg Tarts 蛋塔
from ytower.com
makes 20 egg tarts

INGREDIENTS:
  • EGG CUSTARD FILLING:
  • 400g milk (1.5 cups + 2 tablespoons/430 mL)
  • 350g eggs (7 medium eggs/6 large eggs)
  • 275g sugar (1.5 cups/375mL) [or less, depending on your taste]
  • 1 pinch of salt (1/8 teaspoon)

  • TART CRUST:
  • 220g flour (about 1.5 cups)
  • 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 150g butter, softened and cubed (2/3 cups)
  • 50g eggs (1 egg)
  • 2g salt (1/2 teaspoon)
DIRECTIONS:


EGG CUSTARD FILLING:
  1. Pour all custard ingredients into a large pot and set over the LOWEST heat (temperature should not exceed 50ºC) [picture 1].
  2. Using a whisk, stir the egg custard in ONE direction (avoid making air bubbles) until the sugar has dissolved [picture 2].
  3. Sieve the custard through a strainer to get rid of any unwanted parts of the eggs [picture 3]. Let cool and set aside.
  4. Skim off any foam or solid particles once the custard has cooled. The mixture should be silky yellow.
TART CRUST:
  1. Sift the flour and powdered sugar into a mixing bowl [picture 4].
  2. Add in the butter, egg, and salt. Use a hand mixer and mix on the lowest speed (beware of flour cloud), or just mix by hand [picture 5].
  3. Once the dough comes together, on a floured surface, roll it out into a log and cut into 20 pieces [picture 6, 7].
  4. Roll the dough into a ball and slightly flatten it on your palm.
  5. Place the dough into your muffin well (or tart mold) and use your thumb to press and shape the walls [picture 8, 9, 10].
EGG TART:
  1. Pour the custard into the tart shells (80% full) [picture 11].
  2. Bake at 180ºC (350ºF) for 20 minutes [picture 12].
  3. To tell if they're done, shake your muffin pan and the egg custard should be firm and jiggly like jello.
  4. Cool for 30 minutes and gently lift them out with a butter knife.


Chinese Egg Tarts 蛋塔

37 comments:

  1. Thanks for the recipe!! :)))) Can't wait to try it out. Been dying for a nice egg tart for ages. I can get natas here in Switzerland (portugal's version of egg tart) but it is just not the same. I have a loooong list of other requests coming ... :D

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  2. i want an egg tart! I don't even have an oven right now... sadness!

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  3. hfng: np =D. i also want to try the portuguese tarts, but i really should wait a few weeks to balance out my cholesterol levels, hahaha.

    Deana: after making them myself, i can't believe i paid 1.5 pounds for them in london....... PSHHHHHHHH. and yea... i hate life w/out an oven in tw.

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  4. Wow, this actually doesn't look very hard to make! Maybe I'll try it sometime :)

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  5. hey angelica.
    hope your cough is getting better.
    why dun u try to eat some honey? ( let it melt inside your mouth.)
    its much better than drinking honey dissolved in water.
    this works for me.=)

    take care..
    and your egg tarts look delicious..hehe

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  6. denise: yeaa, it's pretty easy. I would've tried it again ages ago if i didnt fail so badly on the crap recipe i got last time.

    lexandraum: Thanks! i think i'll try the honey thing... cough's still not going away :(

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  7. angelica i wana make egg tarts tooo...i loveee them!!!so if u smell sth burnt on our floor.....dont tell anyone it's me..xD
    p.s i finally found ur blog...(sounds like a stalker lol) i lost it before..

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  8. I tried the recipe over the weekend .. was snowed in:D

    How do you make sure the dough is cooked but the custard not overcooked and jello like? I seem to have it reversed i.e. dough uncooked but custard overcooked .. haha :)

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  9. nglala: hahaha, i heard you were quite the morning bird making egg tarts!

    hfng: :( really? hmmm... maybe you can try with a top oven temperature of180C and bottom of 160C. That's according to the original video recipe...and depending on what kind of oven you have. I have a crappy oven and baked them at gas mark 4 (180C) uniformly. If that doesnt work, you can try moving your baking tray with the bottom more towards the heat (lower rack). If your oven doesnt work like that... then the last resort will be to pre-bake the shells for 5-10 minutes (but you'll have to place beans inside the shells while baking to prevent it from poofing up). Remove the beans afterwards and pour in the custard. Check on your egg tarts every 2- 3minutes and jiggle them around. If you see that the custard is starting to poof up, turn off the fire immediately. Each oven works differently so remember to check on it constantly and take note so you'll know the exact time and heat for the next time :D HOpe this helps.

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  10. Thanks for the tips! I did try a second batch yesterday after the first one failed. I put the pastries in first to pre-bake but ended up poofing up. So beans are the secret .. hahaha. But the custard tasted very yummy:)

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  11. Just noticed you have a new photo .. nice :)

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  12. what is the size of the pan?
    is it the small cupcake pan?

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  13. I've been craving egg tarts for a long time and it's one of my favorite chinese deserts to order when I go for dim sum. Found your recipe online and it turned out perfect.

    Happy Cooking!

    From Karmen in New Mexico, USA

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  14. thanks for the recipe! i baked them today and the filling was realllllllly yummy=D
    if i used less milk, do you think the filling would be more denser?
    my dough kind of failed because i didn't know what the right texture of the dough should have been
    mine turned out like it was creamed butter so i added more flour to it and didn't taste very good so could you tell me what your dough texture was like?
    also, you're right, there is way too much filling for the dough!

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  15. @Karmen: i'm so glad you enjoyed it :)

    @Annonymous: (sorry to get back to you THIS late) you can try adding less milk but it's better if you don't cut it by a lot cuz you still want it to remain custardy instead of baking them into a fritatta. The texture of my dough was soft yet firm (but not as hard as a pie crust dough). The dough should be pliable, kinda like playdough (a little softer), and it should be pretty easy to shape it onto your muffin pans. Make sure the temperature in your room isnt too high cuz that may also cause your dough to soften up too much.

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  16. Cool blog as for me. I'd like to read a bit more concerning that topic. Thank you for giving that material.
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  17. I like egg tart and miss it so much...so happy can search the recipe here, nice and make me hungry already. hope can faster go home and eat the tart make by my sister...hehe..thanks for your share recipe here o..

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  18. Hi anjelikuh! Thanks for posting the custard recipe. I tried it was really yummy:)

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  19. hi angelica, thank you very very much for the recipe, i will try that later. But before we do that I have to thank you for converting the gram into ml, since i dont have a scale in the house, your ml measure comes in very very handy, nice & thoughtful! pyc

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  20. Thanks for posting this, the picture is helpful too. I will try follow and make it sometime during summer now. (: Btw, do i need to preheat the oven?

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  21. @Anonymous: Your welcome! And yes, please do preheat your oven. I'm just a really sloppy baker and often forget to do so. It still turns out ok though ;P

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  22. thanks for the recipe!!! it turned out awesomely!!! :D

    but a little too much custard afterward xDDD

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  23. just a little bit confused

    400g milk = 825ml milk ???

    not on my scale?

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  24. oops, wow, it has been so long since i made these, don't know how i missed that! Thanks for the heads up, Vihung155. But the correct measurements are the ones in Grams, your scale is right! 400g should be around be 1.5 cups + 2 tablespoons of milk! i will correct the recipe, thanks again!

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  25. Would the filling still be good if i made the filling the night before and refrigerate it overnight then make it the next day?

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  26. @Anonymous:
    Yes, you can put it in the fridge overnight. But don't leave it in for too long, they're eggs, afterall!

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  27. I made this today. Thank you for posting this! It turned out absolutely gorgeous! :)

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  28. There is half of the filling left over, maybe you can half the amount for the custard filling.

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  29. Hi!
    Just baked this the other day! And it turned out REAL GOOD!
    Was well received by family memebers!(:
    Definitely going to bake it again!
    By the way, may i know how to store it after baking it? Do i have to keep it in an airtight container overnight? And do i leave it in the fridge? Or could i leave it outside?
    Thanks!

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  30. I just buy them in Chinatown...
    http://youtu.be/09zZdHoHYY4

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  31. I just tried this out! It's awesome! Thanks so much for the recipe..will definitely be following you for more!

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  32. Thanks been looking for a better recipe to try thats out. Also I've just bought a tart pan from Martha Stewart.. hopefully i can give this a go today.

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  33. Tried this recipe before and it's brilliant! My egg tarts turned out great and delicious, will have to mention as well that there was alot of the filling left over, so will try it again with half the amount this time!

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  34. These are one of my favorite things to buy at a Chinese bakery. Your recipe is amazing - I've been munching on them every day. I've linked back to you here: http://evabakes.blogspot.com/2012/08/chinese-egg-tarts.html

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  35. SO glad to find a recipe without LARD for these things!!! I love them but don't eat them very often from the bakery because I don't eat meat, and I'm always afraid of what the crust is made of - thank you, I am so happy!

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  36. grateful to discover a formula without LARD for these things!!! I really like them but don't eat them very often from the bakery because I don't eat various meats, and I'm always scared of what the brown crusting area is created of - thank you, I am so happy!buying runescape gold

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  37. Made these today! They are delicious and easy! Thanks for the recipe!! Thank you also for including US measurement equivalents.

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