egg tart

{{About|the 20th century variations of egg tarts in Chinese cuisine|the original 19th century Portuguese egg tart|Pastel de Nata}}

{{Infobox food

| name = Egg tart

| image = HK SSP 長沙灣 Cheung Sha Wan 深盛路 Sham Shing Road 泓景滙商場 Banyan Mall shop 蛋撻王 King Bakery Studio December 2019 SS2 egg tarts.jpg

| caption = Different variations of egg tarts

| place_of_origin = Guangzhou, China

| region =

| creator =

| course = Snack

| type = Tart

| main_ingredient = Flour, butter, sugar, egg, custard, milk

| calories =

| other =

}}

{{Chinese

| t = 蛋撻

| s = 蛋挞

| p = dàntǎ

| y = daahn tāat

| j = daan⁶ taat¹

| ci = {{IPA|yue|tàːntʰáːt|}}

| l = egg tart

| showflag = y

}}

The egg tart ({{zh|cy=daahn tāat|t=蛋撻|s=蛋挞|first=t}}; {{zh|p=dàntǎ}}) is a kind of custard tart found in Chinese cuisine, derived from the English custard tart and Portuguese pastel de nata. The dish consists of an outer pastry crust filled with egg custard. Egg tarts are often served at dim sum restaurants, Chinese bakeries and cha chaan tengs (Hong Kong–style cafes).

History

The egg tart started being sold in the early 20th century in Guangzhou (Canton), Guangdong province, inspired by the English custard tarts. Guangzhou's status as the only port accessible to European foreign traders led to the development of Cantonese cuisine, which had many outside influences.{{cn|date=March 2025}} As Guangzhou's economy grew from trade and interaction with European powers, pastry chefs at the Western-style department stores in the city were “pressured to come up with new and exciting items to attract customers”. So egg tart varieties, inspired by those from England, featuring a lard-based puff pastry crust and a filling similar to steamed egg pudding (燉蛋), were then created by department stores and appeared as a "Weekly Special".{{Cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/travel-food/article/2177757/hong-kong-egg-tarts-are-not-vegetarian-and-heres-why|title=Hong Kong egg tarts are not vegetarian – and here's why|date=2018-12-13|website=South China Morning Post|language=en|access-date=2019-11-10}} Nowadays, there are two main varieties of egg tart in China. The one that appeared around 1927 in Guangzhou’s Zhen Guang Restaurant (真光酒樓) is close to the egg tarts popular in Guangzhou and Hong Kong today. The other variety is from Macau and is a Macanese take on the pastel de nata, as Macau was then a Portuguese colony.

Variations

=Hong Kong =

File:Egg Tarts with Puff Pastry.jpg

Hong Kong egg tarts can trace their roots back to Guangzhou, and are a Chinese adaptation of the English custard tart. Egg tarts were introduced to Hong Kong via Guangzhou in the 1940s but initially could only be found in higher-end Western-style restaurants. In the 1960s, cha chaan tengs began to serve egg tarts, popularizing the pastry with the working-class Hong Kong population.{{Cite web|url=https://kknews.cc/news/9mlnz9q.html|title=澳門蛋撻的背後：夫妻離婚，肯德基爺爺竟成最大贏家！|language=zh-tw|access-date=2019-06-25}}{{Cite web|url=https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/hong-kong/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-hong-kong-egg-tart/|title=Everything You Need To Know About The Hong Kong Egg Tart|last=Gao|first=Sally|website=Culture Trip|date=4 October 2016 |access-date=2019-11-10}}

Hong Kong egg tarts are typically smaller and served in twos or threes, in contrast to the original Guangzhou egg tarts which were larger and could be served as a single item. Variations on the custard filling have included chocolate, green tea, or bird's nest as flavourings, and the outer shell may be made with either a shortbread-type crust or with puff pastry made from butter, lard, or vegetable shortening.{{Cite web|url=https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/hong-kong/articles/hong-kongs-top-10-baked-goods-and-pastries/|title=Hong Kong's Top 10 Baked Goods And Pastries|last=Fulton|first=Michaela|website=Culture Trip|date=July 2016 |access-date=2019-11-10}}

In June 2014, the technique of egg tart production was formally included in the Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory of Hong Kong.{{Cite web|url=https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20130611/00176_106.html|title=非物質文化遺產普查菠蘿包蛋撻上榜|website=orientaldaily.on.cc|access-date=2019-06-24}}

Egg tarts can be found in Cha chaan tengs, dim sum parlours, and bakery shops.

=Macau=

File:Macau Eggtart.jpgIn 1989, British pharmacist Andrew Stow and his wife Margaret Wong opened Lord Stow's Bakery in Coloane, where they sold Portuguese tarts that copied the pastel de nata.{{Cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/destination-macau/article/1935736/how-british-pharmacist-turned-baker-created-macaus-most-edible|title=How a British pharmacist-turned-baker sold Macau's most edible icon: version of the Portuguese egg tart|date=2016-04-13|website=South China Morning Post|language=en|access-date=2019-11-11}} This variation is a Portuguese tart ({{lang-zh|t=葡撻|cy=poùh tāat|labels=no}}).{{Cite web|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2019/06/10/2003716638|title=The borrowed origin of Macau's Portuguese egg tarts|website=Taipei Times|date=10 June 2019 |access-date=2019-11-10}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/egg-tarts-margarets-cafe-e-nata-macao/index.html|title='Like the tart, I never change': The secret behind Macao's most famous dessert is to copy|last=Jamshed|first=Zahra|date=2019-10-22|website=CNN Travel|language=en|access-date=2019-11-11}} In 1999, Wong sold the recipe to KFC, which then introduced the Macau-style pastel de nata to other parts of Asia, including Singapore and Taiwan.{{Cite web|url=http://travel.cnn.com/singapore/none/kfc-brings-macaustyle-eggs-tarts-singapore-399880/|title=KFC brings Macau-style egg tarts to Singapore {{!}} CNN Travel|last=Loh|first=Larry|website=|language=en|access-date=2019-11-11}}

In contrast to the Hong Kong–style egg tart, the Macau-style egg tart features a caramelized browned top.