Hong Kong Egg Tarts - Dan Tat

Happy New Year! I wish you all the best in fulfilling your new year resolution. May the biggest slice of happiness fill your heart and home. I am looking forward to all the food adventures awaiting in 2010.

Ever wonder about the dessert on the header page of this blog. This is my favorite childhood dessert. Each time we go to a bakery in Chinatown, this is always the first dessert that I choose. Now that I know how to make a pie dough, I have my family version of making egg tarts.

I usually make egg tarts only in very special occasion. My friends can basically taste it once every year. They often bug me to make it, but I always say "when the time comes, I will make it". Now, this is the time of the year where my family and friends come to Montreal and celebrate Christmas and New Year. The first batch was made during the family reunion and I baked about 3 dozen egg tarts. At the end of the day, they were all gone and they all loved it. I wanted to save some for my collective cooking buddies since some of their birthday occurs during the holidays. So today, I made a second batch of egg tarts. Hopefully, they won't be all gone tomorrow.

Makes about 24 egg tarts
Preparation Time : 5 mins
Baking Time : 15-20 mins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Pie dough or puff pastry
1 cup white sugar
1 3/4 cup water
9 large eggs
1 cup canned evaporated milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Procedure

1. Prepare 24 3-inch tart moulds. Shape pie dough by pressing it onto the moulds. Make sure that it goes higher than the edges.

2. Preheat oven to 450F.

3. In a small saucepan, mix water and white sugar over medium-high heat. Stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

4. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, sugar water, evaporated milk and vanilla extract until uniform.

5. Fill tart shells to 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 mins until golden brown and filling is lightly puffed up.