Hong Kong style egg tarts were one of my favourite childhood treats. I wanted to make a gluten-free version that was as close as to the ones I remember from Yum Cha restaurants.
I haven’t posted anything for a while mainly because I was uninspired and very busy with work. Gluten-free egg tarts are something I’ve attempted a couple times before but had little success. I find that making your own puff pastry makes all the difference. You can use store-bought or make some kind of rough puff or shortcrust pastry, but it just won’t have the characteristic flakiness of an egg tart.
My favourite puff pastry recipe is from Aran Goyoaga. It does take some time with the lamination and I recommend making it the day before. The gluten-free dough may have the tendancy to crack and cause the butter block to become exposed. Even if you don’t achieve that perfect lamination, it should still work out just fine. You will only use about half the pastry for this recipe (I made a quiche with the other half).
I baked these egg tarts in a fluted non-stick cupcake pan. You can use whatever you have on hand – a normal muffin tin or individual tart tins. The pastry should be rolled to about 5 mm thick, then cut into rounds and pressed gently into the tin. It is also important for the pastry to be refrigerated before filling and baking.
For the custard, I used a recipe from The Woks of Life. It involves making a simple syrup with hot water and sugar, which needs to cool before incorparting it with the remainder of the ingredients. You will have some evaporated milk leftover, which I am honestly not entirely sure what to do with.
These tarts are best severed fresh. To reheat them from cold, I bake them in my toaster oven at 180°C for about 5 minutes.
I hope you enjoy the recipe and let me know if you have any questions.
Gluten-free Hong Kong Style Egg Tarts
This recipe makes about 18 egg tarts, depending on the size of your tins. I used Aran Goyoaga’s gluten-free puff pastry recipe and filling adapted from The Woks of Life. I recommend making the pastry the day before.
Ingredients
- 1/2 a batch of Aran Goyoga’s gluten-free puff pastry
- Tapioca flour, for dusting
- 100g caster sugar
- 240ml boiling water
- 120ml evporated milk
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190°C.
- Working with half the pastry at a time: dust your work surface lightly with tapicoa flour and roll out the dough to 5mm thick. Cut into 10cm circles to fit either mini tart tins or a shallow non-stick standard muffin pan. Press the pastry gently into the pan so it is completely flush. Refrigerate until chilled whilst you make the filling.
- For the filling, dissolve the sugar in the boiling water and allow to cool to room temperature. Whisk evaporated milk, eggs, and vanilla together, and then whisk in the sugar mixture. Strain through a fine meshed strainer into a large measuring cup.
- Pour the custard into the chilled pastry, leaving about a 5mm lip of dough at the top. Bake for 26-30 minutes, until golden and filling is just set.
- Allow the tarts to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.