蛋挞 Cantonese Egg Tarts with a Secret Ingredient

Custard Tarts with Portuguese pastry were introduced into Hong Kong in the 1940's by Cha Chaan Teng, a Hong Kong Based Canto-western Restaurant by way of the Portuguese colony of Macau. Hong Kong Egg tarts are an adaption of Pastel de Nata found in Macau. I love how flaky and delicate the shell is with a rich smooth slightly sweet custard. Love at first taste!

I recently finish a Taiwanese Drama on American Netflix called Invincible San Bao Mei. There was a struggle over ownership of a company in which a cooking competition ensued. Both chefs, unaware that they were long lost Father and son, both seemingly coincidentally, enter egg tarts into the competition with their shared secret ingredient - a milk candy place in the center of the custard before baking. 

The pure enjoyment that was displayed by everyone that ate the tart peaked my interest. So began my quest in my kitchen to recreate the characteristic of the tart both seen and described on the show. My recipe is an adaption based a recreation of the tarts from Invincible San Bao Mei done by a chinese blogger. You can view her recipe here. To watch how to roll and fold the dough check out this YouTube video.

Milk Candies are not commonly seen in North America but you should be able to find some by asking your local Asian grocery. They are soft and chewy like a soft caramel and have a rich, creamy flavor similar to sweetened condensed milk. You also have the option of replacing either the whole milk or cream and the sugar in the recipe with sweetened condensed milk for a similar flavor or substitute a soft caramel. The tarts are also delicious just as is-sans the secret ingredient.

Makes 3 dozen Tarts

Dough 1 (butter dough):
1/2 cup lard
1 1/3 cups real butter (salted)
1 1/4 cups cake flour

Dough 2 (tart dough):
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. lard
1 Tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 cup water

Egg Custard Ingredients:
1 cup full fat cream
1 cup whole milk
2 Tbsp. custard powder (you can substitute cornstarch if needed)
1/2 cup sugar
4 egg yolks

Make Dough 1

Cut very cold butter and lard into small chunks and add to a food processor along with 1 1/4 cups cake flour (all-purpose is fine as well).

                            

Process until smooth and creamy.

Remove to a piece of plastic wrap.

Fold the plastic wrap over the butter dough and then flatten into a 1 inch wide block, Wrap completely with the plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1/2 hour. It is important for the rolling out that it starts to harden but is not solid. If it is left in the fridge too long and it get too hard to roll out with dough 2 then you can optionally roll them out separately then stack on on top of each other before making the folds.

Make Dough 2

Place 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 Tbsp. lard, 1 Tbsp. sugar, 3/4 tsp. salt, 1 egg, and 1/2 cup water in a food processor.

Process until smooth. The tart dough will be very sticky and soft. This is how you want it so don't be tempted to add more flour. Remove from the food processor and wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for the remaining time with dough 1.

Rolling out Dough 1 and 2

Liberally dust a large sheet of parchment paper with all-purpose flour. Place the block of dough 1 in the middle of the parchment paper. Place dough 2 beside dough one and toss with a little flour.

 Flatten out to the same size and shape as dough 1.

Place dough 2 on top of dough 1 and dust liberally with flour. Dust the entire surface of the parchment paper with flour once more.

Place a large sheet of parchment paper on top of the stack of dough then using a large rolling pin, held with only one hand so you don't apply too heavy of a force, start to beat the two doughs to flatten out to twice the size. Lift up and liberally dust with flour under the dough before placing it back down. Dust the top of the dough with flour as well.

Roll out or continue to beat it, if needed, until 1 foot by 1 1/2-2 foot . If you feel any sticking you need to dust again with flour and frequently check the bottom to make sure it is not sticking.

Fold both sides over.

Then fold in half. If needed at this stage you can place it back in the the fridge for 1/2 hour. This will depend on many factor, How hot your house is, how fast you work and how cold your fridge is. But you should not attempt more than two rolling outs and folding before returning it to the fridge.

Roll the dough out a second time.

And fold up just like you did the second time. Remember to use lots of flour again just like in the first rolling. Place in the fridge for 1/2 hour.

Make the Egg Custard:

Mix a little milk with 2 Tbsp, custard powder (1 Tbsp. cornstarch can be substituted) until smooth then add the remaining milk to equal 1 cup. Mix 1 cup full fat cream and 1/2 cup sugar into the milk. Heat over medium heat until it just starts to thicken and thinly coats a spoon. Remove from the heat.

 Stir 4 egg yolks into the custard.

 Mix until smooth.

 Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a container with a spout for easy pouring. Set aside.

Make the Tarts:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Remove the tart pastry from the fridge and roll out one last time to a 1 foot by 1 1/2-2 foot rectangle. Using a circle cutter just a little larger than your tart molds. 

Place pastry in the molds one at a time pressing against the wall working from the bottom up to the top until the pastry is a little taller than the mold. Do not press on the bottom only the sides so the bottom remains thick enough to support the tart.

 Fill the tarts with the custard until 80% full. And for the secret ingredient place 1/2 to 1 milk candy,  depending on the size of the candy, in the center of each tart.

 Place tarts on the top rack and bake at 400 F for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 F and continue to cook for another 10-12 minutes. Check to see if they are done. When they are done a toothpick inserted will stand upright.

After 10-12 minutes turn off the heat and place a towel or oven mit in the door of the oven and wait another 5 minutes.Remove from the oven and allow to cool about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

There are two looks you can go for the shiny pale yellow top or the browned top. Top get the browned top you can turn on the broiler for 1-2 minutes but watch closely.

This is an amazing recipe. Took two trials to get the pastry figured out and about 5 Trials for the custard. So funny to me considering the complexity of the pastry yet the custard gave me more trouble. But it was all so worth it! I hope you enjoy!