Hong Kong-Style Flaky Egg Tart Pastry
酥皮蛋撻·(sou-pei daan-taat)
Chapter 1: The Wrappers & Doughs
The Hong Kong egg tart is a marvel of thermodynamic engineering dressed up as an everyday bakery staple. There are two crusts in the dim sum canon, but the flaky su pi is the one that demands your respect—a masterful interplay of a gluten-inhibiting water dough and a butter-rich oil dough that shatters into a mathematically improbable 144 layers. Fill it with a silken, aerophobia-inducing custard of evaporated milk and steeped cream, bake it with the vigilance of a sniper, and you will understand exactly why this is the undisputed king of the Sunday dim sum cart.
Before you start
Steep the heavy cream the night before.
Infuse your heavy cream with a scraped vanilla bean or a tablespoon of loose-leaf jasmine tea overnight in the fridge to elevate the custard's flavor profile, then strain before using.
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour120 g
- wheat starch30 g
- caster sugar20 g
- unsalted butter45 g
- egg yolk1 large
- ice water40 ml
- white vinegar1/2 tsp
- cake flour140 g
- unsalted butter110 g
- caster sugar75 g
- boiling water100 ml
- evaporated milk60 ml
- heavy cream60 ml
- eggs2 large
- egg yolks2 large
Method
- 01
Mix the oil dough.
Cut the cold, cubed butter into the cake flour until it resembles coarse meal, then gently knead just until it forms a cohesive block. Shape into a 4-inch square, wrap tightly in plastic, and chill for exactly 30 minutes.
- 02
Mix the water dough.
Rub the room-temperature butter into the all-purpose flour, wheat starch, and sugar until evenly distributed. Whisk the egg yolk, ice water, and vinegar, then pour into the flour mixture, kneading gently until smooth. Shape into a 5-inch square, wrap, and chill alongside the oil dough.
- 03
Lock the fat inside the dough.
Roll the chilled water dough into a 6x10-inch rectangle and place the oil dough square in the center. Fold the top and bottom flaps over the oil dough so they meet in the middle, pinching the seams completely shut.
- 04
Perform the first fold to build the foundation.
Turn the dough 90 degrees, roll it out gently to a 6x15-inch rectangle, and fold it into thirds exactly like a business letter. Wrap and chill for 20 minutes to relax the gluten.
- 05
Execute two book folds to achieve 144 microscopic layers.
Roll the chilled dough out again, fold the top and bottom quarters down to the midline, then close the entire dough in half like a book. Chill for 20 minutes, then repeat this book fold one final time before resting the dough for at least 30 minutes.
- 06
Stamp and mold the tart shells.
Roll the dough to an even 1/4-inch thickness and stamp out circles using a 3.5-inch fluted cutter. Gently press each circle into a 2.75-inch metal tart mold, working your thumbs from the bottom center up the sides, then freeze the shaped shells for 20 minutes.
- 07
Prepare the silken custard.
Dissolve the sugar in boiling water and let it cool completely. Gently stir the whole eggs and yolks side-to-side—do not whisk or incorporate air—then stir in the cooled syrup, evaporated milk, and heavy cream before straining twice through a fine-mesh sieve.
- 08
Blast the tarts with high heat to set the pastry.
Pour the strained custard into the frozen shells until 80 percent full, then bake at 400°F (200°C) for 12 to 15 minutes until the pastry puffs and separates into distinct, pale golden leaves.
- 09
Reduce the heat and execute the oven door trick.
Drop the oven to 350°F (180°C). The exact moment the custard begins to swell slightly upward, crack the oven door open 2 to 3 inches to immediately vent the heat, baking for another few minutes until the center barely jiggles like silken tofu.
Notes
Aeration is the enemy of the perfect custard.
Whipping the eggs introduces air that will expand during baking, ruining the glassy, mirror-like surface of the tart. Stir side-to-side with a fork or chopsticks.
Orchestrating a dim sum brunch requires staggering your prep.
Never make more than one dough on the morning of your brunch. Make this laminated tart pastry on Saturday, keeping the shaped shells in the freezer until it is time to bake on Sunday.
From Cook Dim Sum at Home.