Thai Tea Egg Tarts

Thai Tea Egg Tarts - But First, Boba (1)

If you’ve ever been to a chinese bakery, or even a dim sum restaurant for that matter, you’re probably already aware of what an egg tart is. Egg tarts are simply little tarts made out of some pastry shell, encasing within it a sweet and smooth egg custard.

A good egg tart has been hard to come by where I live right now, but when I was in the Bay Area the best place to get one was hands down at Golden Gate Bakery in SF Chinatown! The small bakery has incredibly odd hours of operation. They close down for weeks to months at a time, with little to no notification beforehand, but when they are open, you’ll definitely know. There’s always a HUGE line of people waiting to get in and get their hands on one of these little masterpieces. The egg tarts there come with a super flaky and buttery crust, filled with an oh so smooth and silky egg custard mixture. There really aren’t enough words to describe how good they are, especially when you score some that come out fresh and hot right from their ovens, so its definitely better to just go and try to get your hands on some yourself!

Thai Tea Egg Tarts - But First, Boba (2)

Within the egg tart loving community, there’s huge debate on what the best type of pastry shell is. On one side stands the flaky crust lovers who firmly believe that egg tarts should have one of those flaky, buttery, airy, almost croissant like crusts. On the other side stands the shortcrust lovers who find that the best way to enjoy an egg tart is if the tart is made of shortcrust pastry, resulting in a crust that is more dense and crumbly than the former. I actually fall in the latter category (so this is a recipe with a shortcrust base) because I don’t quite like flaky and buttery things but I can definitely appreciate both sides!

ryanlleeFacebookTweet Pin If you’ve ever been to a chinese bakery, or even a dim sum restaurant for that matter, you’re probably already…RecipesThai Tea Egg TartsEuropean Print This

Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 45 minutes45 minutes

Nutrition facts:200 calories20 grams fat

Rating: 3.8/5

( 26 voted )

See Also

Palak Paneer. Indisches Spinat-Curry.

Ingredients

Shortbread Crust

1/4 cup unsalted, softened butter
1 and 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup and 2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 egg
1 tsp of vanilla extract

Egg Tart Filling

3/4 cup water
3 tbsp thai tea leaves
1/4 cup and 1 tbsp granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup and 1 tbsp evaporated milk

Instructions

Shortbread Crust

Preheat the oven to 350F
In a small bowl, cream the softened butter and powdered sugar together
Add in the whisked egg and vanilla extract to the small bowl and mix until it is fully incorporated
Then pour in the flour and mix until the well combined
Remove the dough and flatten until about 1/4 inch thick
Cut the dough to the size of your tart tins and line them
Using your fingers push the dough into the crevices of the tart tin and then trim away the excess
Once all the tart tins are lined with the dough, poke some holes into the bottom of them with a fork
Blind bake the tarts (line each tart with some parchment paper and then top the papers with some rice, beans, or pie weights) in the oven for 20 minutes
Then remove the weights and brush the bottom of each tart with some egg wash (to keep the egg custard mixture from seeping through the holes)
Then return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes
Remove the tarts from the oven once the dough is just a light golden brown and leave off to the side until the egg custard filling is done

Egg Tart Filling

Preheat the oven to 320F
Pour the water into a small sauce pot and heat until boiling
Once the water has started to boil, remove from heat and pour in the thai tea leaves
Allow the tea to steep for 5-10 minutes and then strain out the leaves (try to squeeze out as much of the water from them as possible!)
Pour in the granulated sugar into the hot water and stir until it is fully dissolved
In a small bowl, gently whisk together the two eggs and evaporated milk (you don't want to create too many air bubbles)
Add in the hot thai tea water sugar mixture to the small bowl and whisk until combined
Strain the above mixture at least twice (more times results in a smoother custard, but make sure to not incorporate too much air into it) before going to fill the tart shells
Fill each tart to about 90% with the egg custard mixture
Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes (if the fillings start to inflate at any time during the bake process, then just prop open the oven door until they've fully deflated, before closing it again)*
The egg tarts will be done when you can stick a toothpick into the centers of them, without having them fall over
Cool in the tart shells and then enjoy!

Notes

* I know its a bit odd but while making egg tarts I actually sit in front of the oven and stare at them the ENTIRE cooking process! When I see even one inflating I'll prop open the door until it deflates, and then close it again. Sure it increases the cook time, but it results in such a nice, smooth, shiny top that I don't mind the inconvenience! If you're not too concerned with how the egg tarts end up looking then you definitely don't need to be as obsessive as me