Dan tats or Hong Kong egg tarts are a custard-filled tart or pastry that are thick, creamy and delicious. This dish is derived from the English custard tart and Portuguese pastel de nata. The crisp, buttery tart combines with the creamy, soft and smooth filling and each bite is a festival of flavor and texture. So follow this quick sweet recipe to make the most delicious dan tats or egg tarts and impress your guests and loved ones with a brand new dish. Because whether you’re planning an intimate dinner party or a larger gathering or party, or you’re cooking only for yourself, this dish is sure to be a hit with everyone.
Ingredients:
- 250 gm all purpose flour, fluffed and spooned into a measuring cup
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 170 gm unsalted butter, slightly softened
- 30 ml cold water
- 100 gm granulated sugar
- 235 ml hot water
- 120 ml evaporated milk, at room temperature
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
- In a bowl, sift in the flour. Add the salt and mix well.
- Now add the butter and add it to the bowl. Break up the butter with your fingers and mix it in till the mixture has coarse crumbs and pea sized chunks.
- Add two spoons of cold water and use your hands to bring the dough together. Add a little bit more water if necessary but not a lot. No more than 3 spoons. The dough will still be a bit dry.
- Now wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for 20 minutes. This allows the flour to absorb more moisture and the dough to become more cohesive.
- Sprinkle flour on a workstation and roll out the dough with a rolling pin dusted with flour. Roll it out into a rectangle. Fold the top third of the dough down onto the middle, then the bottom third over that. Then turn the dough a bit and then roll it out again into a rectangle. Fold the same way as before, cover with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for about an hour.
- In the meantime, prepare the filling. Dissolve sugar into a cup of hot water and let the mixture sit aside so it can cool to room temperature.
- Whisk the evaporated milk, eggs and vanilla together and whisk well. Then add the sugar water and whisk that in too.
- Strain the mixture through a fine meshed strainer into a cup.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F or 177°C.
- Bring out the dough and roll it out. Cut it into circles with a small bowl or cookie cutter. The rounds should be small enough to fit into mini tart tins or a muffin pan. Take the remaining dough scraps, form it into a ball, roll it out again, and then create more circles.
- Place the rounds into tart shells and fill the filling ⅔ in.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. The exact time will depend on the machine you're using. You’ll know it's done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Then remove the tarts and let them cool for about 10 minutes at room temperature.
- Top with berries, if desired. Serve cool.
Notes, tips and tricks:
- The butter should be at room temperature. If it's too cold, then it will be lumpy and not mix in properly. And if you melt it or heat it, the butter will become liquidy and the batter will be too runny. So make sure you let it sit out at room temperature so it can soften naturally, and then add it to the flour.
- The recipe calls for unsalted butter and a pinch of salt. If you don't have that, you can also use salted butter and skip the salt pinch. But it's better to use unsalted butter and add the salt pinch, because the salt brings out the flavor of the dish more strongly.
If you want to make these in advance, you can make the dough a day before and store it in the fridge overnight. Then follow the recipe the same way the next day.