Chinese egg tarts that are sweet and delicious. Making these brings me back to my childhood when my mother would make them all the time!
A quick distinction to make! The Hong Kong and Macau versions of egg tarts are pretty different.
Macau’s version was brought over by Portuguese colonizers, and they have more of a scorched, caramelized exterior, and a crispier rough puff pastry dough. (Check out our separate recipe for Portuguese Custard Tarts, or pasteis de nata.)
The filling has not changed. It has just five ingredients—all of which you probably already have in your pantry—and the resulting custard is as silky, glassy, and delicious as ever.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups water
¾ cup white sugar
4 eggs
¼ cup evaporated milk
24 (3 inch) unbaked tart shells
Directions
Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Combine the water and white sugar in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook until the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl; add the evaporated milk and continue beating. Pour in the cooled sugar water and mix until well combined. Place the tart shells on a baking sheet. Strain the filling through a sieve, and fill the tart shells.
Bake in the preheated oven until the filling has puffed a little bit, about 20 minutes.