Pumpkin Hong Kong Egg Tarts

Up close of a pumpkin egg tart with a bite out of it

Pumpkin Hong Kong Egg Tarts

This fall-inspired Chinese Bakery style Pumpkin Hong Kong egg tart has a flaky yet crumbly crust and is filled with pumpkin spice creamy custard. Take your ordinary pumpkin pie to the next level with this bite-sized pumpkin Hong Kong Egg tarts!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Asian Fusion

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 25

Total Time 1 25

Servings Tarts

Calories 504kcal

Author Takes Two Eggs

Ingredients

Pastry Dough

1 ½ cup (220 g) all-purpose flour
7 tablespoon (100 g) unsalted butter chilled and cubed
¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon (1 g) salt
1 large egg
¼ cup (60 g) ice water

Shortening Dough

1 cup (150 g) all-purpose flour
⅓ cup (60 g) shortening
3 tablespoon (40 g) unsalted butter room temperature

Pumpkin Filling

15 oz (425 g) pumpkin puree
⅓ cup (65 g) light brown sugar packed
⅓ cup (60 g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (80 g) maple syrup
¾ teaspoon (4 g) kosher salt
¾ cup (180 g) heavy cream
¾ cup (180 g) evaporated milk
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Pastry Dough

Hand mix the flour, sugar, salt, and butter. In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Then add the chilled butter and break up the butter with your fingers and mix until the dough resembles wet sand.
Knead the egg and water with stand mixer. Using the dough hook attachment, add the egg and water and mix on medium speed for about 15 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. It should not be overly sticky. If it is add 1-2 tablespoons of flour.
Wrap and rest. Take the dough out of the mixer and wrap with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Shortening Dough

Hand mix the dough together. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, shortening and butter by hand or with a rubber spatula until smooth and combined.
Wrap and chill. Press the dough out into a 6"x6" square and wrap with plastic wrap and rest for 10 minutes in the refrigerator

Assemble the Dough

Roll out the 1st dough. On a well floured surface, knead the 1st dough until it is smooth and round. Then flatten the dough into a long 12"x 6" inch rectangle.
Fold the 2nd dough inside the 1st dough. Place the 2nd 6x6 inch dough onto one side of the rectangle and fold the 1st dough over to cover the 2nd dough. Pinch to seal the sides.
Roll out the combined dough and fold. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into an 8 x 18" rectangle. Fold in both the 8 inch sides towards the middle leaving 1 cm width in the middle. Then fold the dough in half again like a book.
Roll and fold one more time. Roll the dough out into another 8 x 18 inch rectangle. Fold in both the 8 inch sides towards the middle leaving 1 cm width in the middle. Then fold the dough in half again like a book. Gently press don the folded dough to seal.
Cover the dough and chill. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and rest the dough in the refrigerator for about 25 minutes.
Divide the dough in half. Place one half on a well floured work surface and the other half wrapped in the refrigerator.
Roll the dough and cut with pastry cutter. Roll the dough out into about a 1/8 inch thick rectangle. Using a large, round, fluted pastry cutter, cut the dough into about 8 circles of the dough.
Mold the dough into the tart mold. Gently place the dough in the center of the pastry cup and using your thumbs press the dough into the bottom and sides of the mold until the edges are slightly over the edges of the pastry cup. Try not to press too tightly it will damage the layers. Cover with plastic wrap and repeat with the remaining dough.

Pumpkin Filling

Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 F or 162 C.
Caramelize the sugars and add the milk. In a heavy-bottomed medium pot on medium high heat, mix together the pumpkin, brown sugar, granulated sugar, maple syrup and salt until it begins to simmer. Then reduce the heat to medium, gently simmer and stir for about 10 minutes until the sugar is caramelized and glossy. Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the cream and milk until combined. Remove from heat.
Add the eggs and spices. In a heat-proof bowl, whisk the eggs until combined. Temper the eggs by slowly pouring in 2 ladles of the mixture, one at a time, to the eggs while whisking vigorously. Then pour the egg mixture back into the pumpkin mixture, whisking to combine until very smooth. Lastly, stir in the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and vanilla. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove any bumps.
Bake and serve. Place the tart pans onto a baking tray and pour the mixture into the tart pastry shells leaving about 1/4 inch of space at the top. Bake at 325 F (162 C) until the edges are set but the center is very slightly jiggly, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely. Serve with fresh whipped cream and extra cinnamon.

Notes

Keep kneading until the dough forms and becomes less tacky. It may seem overly sticky at first but if you continue kneading the dough it will come together. If it still is overly sticky add 1-2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and continue kneading.

Substitute vegetable shortening for lard. You can alternatively substitute vegetable shortening for lard to get the same flaky layers.

If the dough is too loose and hard to work with, place the dough in the refrigerator. This will firm the dough right back up and make it easier to work with. This will vary depending on the temperature inside your home.

Roll the combined dough gently. When rolling the combined doughs together, roll gently to prevent the dough from ripping through the layers. The 2nd fat dough layered with the first dough is what creates the lamination and the flaky layers. If you break 1st layer during rolling then the fat layer may bleed into the other layers creating a more crumbly and less flaky crust.

Make sure to temper the eggs before adding them to the hot mixture. When mixing the eggs with the warmed pumpkin mixture, whisk vigorously to prevent the eggs from turning scrambled. If you are unsure, you can always wait until the pumpkin mixture has cooled a little bit before mixing it with the eggs.

See storage instructions in blog post.

Nutrition