Dan Tat: How to Make Cantonese Egg Custard Tarts with a Proper Flaky Shell

Make the sugar syrup first: combine 75 g caster sugar with 140 ml hot (just-boiled) water and stir until completely dissolved. Set aside to cool fully to room temperature. This must be cold before it touches the eggs — warm syrup will partially cook the proteins and create stringy lumps that no amount of sieving will fully remove.

Make the water dough: combine 200 g plain flour, 30 g lard (or unsalted butter), and a pinch of fine salt in a bowl. Rub the fat into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with no visible lumps of fat. Add 85 ml cold water and bring the mixture together, then knead on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes until you have a smooth, elastic, pliable dough — it should not be sticky and should spring back slightly when poked. Wrap tightly in cling film and rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Make the oil dough: combine 120 g cake flour and 80 g lard (or butter). This dough contains no water and should not be overworked. Use a fork to cut the fat through the flour, then press and knead briefly — 1 to 2 minutes — until you have a soft, smooth paste. It will feel richer and more tender than the water dough. Wrap and rest for 10 minutes.

Enclose the oil dough: on a lightly floured surface, roll the water dough into a rectangle approximately 20 x 30 cm. Shape the oil dough into a flat rectangle roughly half the size of the water dough. Centre the oil dough on the water dough and fold the water dough over it from all sides, like wrapping a parcel, fully enclosing the oil dough. Pinch and press all seams firmly to seal — any gaps will let the oil dough escape during rolling.

First roll and fold: with the seam side down, use a rolling pin to gently roll the parcel away from you into a long rectangle, about 40 x 15 cm and roughly 1 cm thick. Work slowly — you are extending the dough lengthwise, not pressing down. If the oil dough tries to break through, stop and let the dough rest 5 minutes before continuing. Fold the rectangle into thirds like a business letter: fold the top third down, then the bottom third up over it. You have completed one fold. Wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Second roll and fold: remove the dough, rotate it 90 degrees so the open seam faces you, and roll out again into a long rectangle. Fold into thirds again. Two folds is the minimum for visible layers. For a more pronounced flake, repeat a third time: wrap, refrigerate 15 minutes, rotate, roll, fold. After the final fold, wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before lining the tins. The dough can be made up to this point and refrigerated overnight.

Mix the custard: lightly beat the 3 eggs in a bowl — stir rather than whisk, aiming to break up the yolks without incorporating air. Pour the fully cooled sugar syrup over the eggs and stir gently to combine. Add 140 ml evaporated milk and stir until uniform. Strain the mixture twice through a fine sieve into a pouring jug. Let the strained custard rest for 10 minutes to allow any surface bubbles to dissipate — these will bake into pocked holes on the surface of the finished tart if not given time to pop.

Line the tins: preheat the oven to 200 degrees C / 390 degrees F (fan 180 degrees C / 355 degrees F). Lightly grease 12 tart tins, approximately 8 to 9 cm diameter. Remove the chilled dough and roll on a lightly floured surface to about 3 mm thickness. Cut circles slightly larger than your tins — the dough should extend up the sides without stretching. Ease each circle into a tin and press gently into the base and up the sides. Trim any excess that hangs over the rim. Prick the base lightly with a fork — two or three pricks only, not so many that the base leaks custard.

Fill and bake: pour the rested custard mixture slowly into each shell, filling to approximately 80% capacity. Do not fill to the brim — the custard expands as it bakes and will overflow if filled too full. Pour from close to the shell to avoid introducing bubbles. Bake at 200 degrees C / 390 degrees F for the first 8 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 180 degrees C / 355 degrees F without opening the door and bake for a further 12 to 15 minutes.

Check doneness and serve: the tarts are ready when the outer ring of custard is fully set and the very centre still quivers slightly when you gently move the tray — a barely-there jiggle, like a set panna cotta, not liquid sloshing. If the surface begins to puff or blister mid-bake, open the oven door briefly to release steam, then close it. Do not overbake chasing a fully firm centre — residual heat will finish the job. Remove from the oven and rest in the tins for 5 minutes before carefully unmoulding. Serve warm, within 30 minutes of baking, for the best contrast between the shattering flaky shell and the silky custard. Cold dan tat is edible; warm dan tat is the point.