Egg Tarts (known in Cantonese as Dan Tat) are an iconic Cantonese treat consisting of a creamy egg custard housed perfectly in a crisp, pastry shell.

Popular at dim sum restaurants and Chinese bakeries, they truly are one of the tastiest Chinese desserts out there, suitable for breakfast, brunch, or general snacking.

The deliciousness of egg tarts is no secret, but what is less known is just how easy they can be to make for yourself at home.

Today, I’ll be sharing Papa G’s ultra quick and easy method for preparing egg tarts when those cravings hit. It uses a variety of shortcuts that save a ton of time, but still yield a tasty result.

So, keep scrolling for our foolproof Egg Tarts recipe. I hope you’ll find it’s egg-xactly what you’re looking for.

A Quick Note on These Egg Tarts

There are several different kinds of egg tarts out there. Hong Kong style egg tarts tend to be smaller, and use a more delicate puff pastry as the base, whereas the more traditional Guangzhou style ones are larger and use a crunchier shortcrust pastry.

(There’s also the Portuguese-style egg tart, which are a different (but still very delicious) matter entirely.)

All that said, the ones in this recipe will produce the more OG style Guangzhou egg tart, which is wider and uses a shortcrust pastry base.

We’ll be relying on some (admittedly quite lazy) shortcuts to make the process as quick and easy as possible. While I don’t doubt that results might be a bit more authentic if everything was made from scratch, sometimes you just want a quick and simple solution to your egg tart craving. If that’s the case, this is the recipe you need!

Alright, enough yapping, let’s get to the recipe!

Ingredients for Our Quick & Easy Egg Tarts Recipe

• 1 box tart shells
• 5 eggs 
• 300 mL milk (or evaporated milk, if you want a creamier texture)
• 60ml water 
• 60g butter
• 80g sugar 
• OPTIONAL: A splash of vanilla

Step by Step Instructions for Our Quick & Easy Egg Tarts Recipe

With the help of a few shortcuts, these egg tarts couldn’t be quicker and easier to make. Here are the step by step instructions!

Bake shells at 300 degrees Fahrenheit (150 degrees Celsius) for 5 minutes, set aside.

While they’re baking, mix water, sugar, and butter for about 1 minute and 20 seconds in the microwave. Everything should be melted. 

Add milk and then 5 eggs with a whisk. If desired, you can also add a splash of vanilla.

Strain the mixture and then put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Fill your pastry shells by pouring in your mixture.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Pop your filled shells in for 5 minutes, then then turn the heat down to 280 degrees Fahrenheit, and let it bake for 12 minutes. Turn the oven off then leave inside for 5 more minutes before removing.

Let the egg tarts cool for 10 minutes before removing them from their shell, and then enjoy!

We Hope You Enjoy Our Quick & Easy Egg Tarts Recipe!

Let us know in the comments if you have any questions, or be sure to let us know if you’ve tested the recipe out. We’re always looking to improve our recipes and make sure they taste great for everyone.