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Easy Portuguese egg tarts with a flaky crust filled with creamy custard and a caramelized top. One of the best egg tart recipes with just 30 minutes of prep time. It's easy to make and impossible to resist!
Discover The Best Egg Tart Recipe
Portuguese egg tarts are one of my favorite tarts, along with pineapple tarts and cheese tarts. This egg tart recipe, with its amazing combination of textures—the flaky crust complementing the egg custard center—makes it incredibly versatile and suitable for any time of the day.
This Portuguese egg tart recipe is one of the easiest egg tart recipes with a 30-minute prep time. It calls for simple and accessible ingredients and involves eight steps, making it straightforward for beginners to follow and quickly satisfying your dessert cravings.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple and accessible. This Portuguese egg tart recipe calls for basic ingredients like pastry dough, eggs, milk, and sugar, keeping the ingredient list short and easy to find.
- Rich and unique in flavor. This egg tart features flaky pastry filled with creamy custard, topped by a caramelized layer that balances sweetness and texture perfectly.
- Consistent results. Even beginners in baking can achieve delicious egg tarts every time, thanks to the forgiving nature of this recipe.
Portuguese Egg Tarts Ingredients
- eggs – creates the creamy egg custard filling that sets beautifully when baked.
- milk – adds richness and smoothness to the custard.
- sugar – helps caramelize the top layer of the tart during baking.
- cinnamon – dusted on top for a hint of spice and aroma.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make Portuguese Egg Tarts
Step 1: Making puff pastry: Whisk the butter until creamy, then in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, water, and salt. Mix on low speed until the dough is sticky.
Step 2: Transfer to a well-floured work surface and shape into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a ½-inch thick rectangle, 10 inches long. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Step 3: Roll the dough into a 15-inch square, dusting with flour as needed. Spread one-third of the butter on the bottom half, leaving a 1-inch border. Fold the top over the butter, seal the edges, and roll into another 15-inch square. Spread half of the remaining butter on the bottom half, fold, seal, and roll into an 18-inch square. Spread the rest of the butter, leaving a 1-inch border. Roll the dough into a tight log, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Step 4: To make the filling, preheat the oven to 500°F. In a saucepan, combine sugar, water, and a cinnamon stick. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat and let sit until needed.
Step 5: On a floured surface, trim the dough ends and cut the log into thirty (30) ½-inch slices. Place each slice in a muffin tin or tart mold, with the cut side of the spiral facing up. Press the center with your thumb to flatten it against the bottom and sides, extending the dough slightly above the rim. Repeat with all slices and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Step 6: Heat 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon of milk in a saucepan until it bubbles, about 4-5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together flour and the remaining 5 tablespoons of milk. Gradually whisk in the hot milk. Remove the cinnamon stick from the sugar syrup and whisk it into the milk mixture. Return to the saucepan and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 10-12 minutes.
Step 7: Add the yolks to the mixture and whisk until well combined, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Pour 1½ tablespoons of the warm filling into each pastry shell.
Step 8: Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until shells are golden brown, custards are set, and tops are lightly blackened. Cool on wire racks for 5 minutes, then remove tarts, place on racks, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve warm.
Helpful Tips For Home Bakers
- Make sure the dough is cold before rolling it out. This makes it easier to shape and prevents sticking or becoming too soft in the tart molds.
- Strain the egg tart custard filling through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any lumps.
- Be gentle when pouring the custard mixture into the tart shells to avoid splashing or overflowing, which can lead to uneven baking.
- Allow the baked tarts to cool in the pans for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to help them set properly and retain their shape.
Frequently Asked Questions
Portuguese egg tarts usually only use egg yolks and heavy cream, while regular egg tarts typically call for evaporated milk and whole eggs.
Yes, you can use store-bought puff pastry. Make sure to follow the instructions for rolling and shaping the pastry to fit your tart molds or muffin tin.
You can use a regular muffin tin instead.
Place them back in the oven at a lower temperature and bake until the custard firms up.
Yes you can. If you plan to consume them on the same day you make them, you do not have to refrigerate them. They can be enjoyed warm, at room temperature, or chilled. However, if you intend to eat them the next day, it’s best to refrigerate them. You can reheat them in a toaster oven for about 10 minutes before serving.
This egg tart has 117 calories per serving.
What To Serve With Portuguese Egg Tarts
Egg tarts goes well with a cup of coffee or warm tea like matcha latte, serving alongside blueberry scones, banana cake, and savory French cheese puffs. However, at Cantonese dim sum restaurants, these decadent egg tarts are complementary treats to classic yumcha items below:
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Other Recipes You Might Like
- Brazilian cheese puffs (Pão de Queijo)
- Bacon broccoli egg bites
- Cream puffs
- French chouquettes
- Jam puffs
Portuguese Egg Tarts
Equipment
- Egg tart molds
Ingredients
For the Puff Pastry
- 1½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- ⅔ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the Filling and Garnish
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup whole milk, plus 6 tablespoons
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 6 egg yolks
- ground cinnamon, for garnish
Instructions
- Making puff pastry: Whisk the butter until creamy, then in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, water, and salt. Mix on low speed until the dough is sticky.
- Transfer to a well-floured work surface and shape into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a ½-inch thick rectangle, 10 inches long. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes.
- Roll the dough into a 15-inch square, dusting with flour as needed. Spread one-third of the butter on the bottom half, leaving a 1-inch border. Fold the top over the butter, seal the edges, and roll into another 15-inch square. Spread half of the remaining butter on the bottom half, fold, seal, and roll into an 18-inch square. Spread the rest of the butter, leaving a 1-inch border. Roll the dough into a tight log, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- To make the filling, preheat the oven to 500°F. In a saucepan, combine sugar, water, and a cinnamon stick. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat and let sit until needed.
- On a floured surface, trim the dough ends and cut the log into thirty (30) ½-inch slices. Place each slice in a muffin tin or tart mold, with the cut side of the spiral facing up. Press the center with your thumb to flatten it against the bottom and sides, extending the dough slightly above the rim. Repeat with all slices and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Heat 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon of milk in a saucepan until it bubbles, about 4-5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together flour and the remaining 5 tablespoons of milk. Gradually whisk in the hot milk. Remove the cinnamon stick from the sugar syrup and whisk it into the milk mixture. Return to the saucepan and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 10-12 minutes.
- Add the yolks to the mixture and whisk until well combined, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Pour 1½ tablespoons of the warm filling into each pastry shell.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until shells are golden brown, custards are set, and tops are lightly blackened. Cool on wire racks for 5 minutes, then remove tarts, place on racks, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve warm.
Notes
- Make sure the dough is cold before rolling it out. This makes it easier to shape and prevents sticking or becoming too soft in the tart molds.
- Strain the egg tart custard filling through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any lumps.
- Be gentle when pouring the custard mixture into the tart shells to avoid splashing or overflowing, which can lead to uneven baking.
- Allow the baked tarts to cool in the pans for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to help them set properly and retain their shape.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I make a slightly different cheat pastry for Portuguese tarts. It comes out like the flaky pastry the real tarts have.
Using store bought sheets of puff pastry, cut one sheet in half (the sheets here are about 10 inches square). Place one half on top of the other and roll tightly along the long edge. Cut the roll into 3/4 inch or 1 cm slices. Roll each slice out to about 10 cm/4 inches. Then put in your tart tin.
Can I use puff pastry?
Yes you can!
I made this and it was delicious.
Awesome thanks for trying my recipe.
I thought it came out really well! The top layer and look came out a little different than the ones I had in Lisbon. I would suggest using half the recommended sugar. My family put chocolate drizzle, fruit, almond slices and whipped cream on the side and it was even more amazing to us.
Hi Nattie, sounds yummy. Thanks for trying this recipe.
Pls. Give in cups measurement for the water dough and oil dough. Thanks!
Your tarts look good. I made this kind of tart a month or two months ago. It’s so yummy. Check my tarts at http://indonesia-eats.blogspot.com/2006/11/portuguese-custard-tarts.html
Chris – Curry Puffs look like this: http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/g/ga/garytamin/511493_curry_puff.jpg :P
Dr. Ve Thru – other than instant pie crust mix, you can also “cheat” with puff pastry sheets (takes longer time). ;)
Yes, Portugese egg tarts are like the deluxe egg tarts. :)
I like Portuguese egg tarts better than the usual ones. This one gives the oomph!