My take on the Hong Kong style coconut tarts.
If you're familiar with these then today you'll know how easy it is to make them at home. I'm going to show you how.
And if you're not familiar with these, then I bet you that you're going to love them!
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What Are Hong Kong Style Coconut Tarts
They are tarts with flaky pastry and filled with fluffy and kind of sticky sweet coconut filling.
The coconut tarts are a common item in a dim sum restaurant or a Chinese bakery.
Typically vanilla custard powder or pudding powder is used as one of the ingredients for the filling.
It acts as a thickener and helps with the moist texture.
But what if we don't have any vanilla custard or we don't want to use it?
Substitute For Vanilla Custard Powder
I try to not buy ingredients that I know I won't be using as often.
Don't you hate it that you have to buy a pack of something and only to use a few tablespoon of it?
Well you and me both.
So that's exactly what happened in this recipe. So instead of buying a pack of vanilla custard powder, I thought I will simply use all purpose flour.
And it works! Easy right?
Flour in this case just like the custard powder, acts as a thickener and also helps with the moist texture.
How To Get Flaky Pastry
Who doesn't LOVE flaky pastries, right? I'm using my go-to pastry recipe that I've been using in several recipes already.
It's not difficult to make, you know. Here's some of the things that I like to do to achieve flaky pastry:
Use ingredients at indicated temperatures - always follow the recipe as indicated, including the temperature of ingredients. For example in this recipe the butter needs to be soft. Not room temperature, not melted, not cold.
Do not over mix - pastries don't get flaky when you over mix the dough. They get hard. The less you work the dough once the flour is added, the better.
Chill and chill again - Always chill the dough before you use it. It's easier to work with. After filling your moulds, chill again. In this case, do the second chilling while you're preparing the filling.
So there you go. No crazy steps or whatsoever, right?
I hope you'll give these coconut tarts a try. They are definitely worth it.
In Summary
These Hong Kong style coconut tarts are:
- easier to make than you think
- don't need any custard powder
- the pastry is just so flaky!
- the coconut filling is not overly sweet
- worth to try because they are DELICIOUS!
Before You Go
Here are some recipes that you can also check out:
- Hokkaido cheese tarts
- Classic Argentine alfajores (super flaky biscuits!)
- Pineapple tart cookies (melt in your mouth cookies with thick pineapple jam)
- Strawberry cream puff or chaoux craquelin (easier to make than it looks!)
Video
📖 Recipe
Hong Kong Style Coconut Tarts
Video
Ingredients
The Pastry
- ⅓ cup butter (75 g), softened
- 2 tablespoon sugar (25 g)
- 1 egg yolk , room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour (130 g)
The Filling
- 1 ¼ cup desiccated coconut (100 g)
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour (8 g)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ cup sugar (65 g)
- ¼ cup milk (60 ml), room temperature
- 1 egg , room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon butter (30 g), melted
- pinch of salt
Instructions
The Pastry
- Add butter and sugar into a bowl. Using a spatula, mix them well. Now add in yolk and vanilla extract and mix.
- Finally add in flour and mix until everything comes together into a dough. Wrap in a cling film and press it into ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Take a piece of dough and form into a ball. Press into a tart mould of 2.5 inch (6.5 cm). Use a knife to cut off excess dough. Repeat for the rest of the dough.
- Place the moulds on a baking tray and chill in the fridge meanwhile we make the filling.
The Filling
- Add desiccated coconut, flour and baking powder into a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
- In another bowl, add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well using a whisk.
- Now add in the coconut flour mixture into it and whisk everything to combine.
Assembling & Baking
- Using an ice cream scoop, put the filling evenly into the tart moulds.
- Bake in a preheated oven with convection setting (fan forced) at 375ºF (190ºC) for 20 minutes or until they turn golden brown and fully cooked. Use lower ⅔ rack.
- Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the moulds.
- To remove the moulds, simply flip the tarts in your hand and tap the mould's bottom. Pinching the moulds on the sides very lightly also helps.
- I love to enjoy these tarts warm, super delicious!
Notes
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
- To Freeze: cool completely and then wrap them individually in cling film. Place in a zip-lock bag and place in the freezer.
- To Defrost: Thaw at room temperature. Heat in the oven at 375ºF (190ºC) for a few minutes to bring them back to life.
Darina says
Hello Bea and Marco, I just tried your recipe for tart shells and they are perfect. I would like to try your Hong Kong style coconut tarts and was wondering if I could use a full fat canned coconut milk instead of regular milk.
Many thanks
Bea & Marco says
Hi, Darina! We're happy to hear that you loved the tart shells! And yes, you can use full-fat coconut milk, no problem. Hope it helps!
Noha says
Made them and they are delicious
Richard yeung says
Hello BEA and Macro, saw your presentation of the Hong Kong style Coconut Tart. Because I came from Hong Kong, and now I’m curious and wish to know how you came across this tart recipe, there must be a story behind it? Right?
Thanks, and have a “good eat” day!
Bea says
Hi Richard! Honestly I'm not an expert of the origins of these tarts. If I'm not mistaken egg tarts are mix origins from Hong Kong and Portugal. These coconut egg tarts are very popular in my home country Malaysia and they've always been called Hong Kong coconut tarts. Perhaps these are "Malaysianized" version of Hong Kong egg tarts since we have lots of coconuts. Haha! Have a good eat day to you too!
Koh Huiping says
I live in Singapore, there are lots of fresh coconuts available here. Can I use fresh coconuts?
Bea & Marco says
We don’t recommend using fresh coconut for this recipe because it has a lot more moisture than desiccated coconut. That extra water will make the filling too wet and can affect the texture of the tarts, making them soft or soggy instead of creamy and set. Desiccated coconut gives the best, most reliable result here. Hope it helps!
Belle says
Tried the filling twice. So glad to have found this recipe. Easy and great tasting. I use unsweetened coconut and Sweetness level is just nice. Highly recommend!
Bea says
Happy to hear that, Belle! Do check out more of my tart recipes here, thank you!
may says
Hi,
I just bake this. The pastry is flaky. How do i make the pastry more structured that able to hold well? As due to the flakiness, it falls apart easily. TQ
May says
Hi,
I am using a toaster oven.
Do I need to bake the pastry first. Then bake again after adding the filling?
Tabitha says
Do I use salted or unsalted butter for the tart and the filling?
Bea & Marco says
Use unsalted butter, hope it helps!
Tabitha says
I have tried the recipe. It’s yummy. And compared to other more complicated recipes, I think this one works fine. The tart holds quite well and didn’t crumble. I tried to make it a little thicker so it wouldn’t crumble
Jeanette Goh says
Hi, can we use fresh grated coconut for this recipe? Thank you.
Savita says
What can I use in place of egg.
Diane says
Hi; I’m trying this recipe with sweetened coconut flakes which is plenty sweet. Can I not add any more sugar to the filling? I don’t want it to be overly sweet.
Bea says
Hi! Yes omit or adjust the sugar to your liking, no problem. Hope it helps.
Sharon says
Hi, what sugar should i use and can i use muffin tray to make the tart crusts?
Bea says
Hi Sharon! Use granulated sugar. I've never made them using muffin tray so I can't say if it's going to be easy to remove them out later after baking. Sorry though!
Darwisah Burgess says
Hello Bea;
Made these coconut tarts a couple of times. It's awesome! My husband and I loved coconuts. Just the right amount for the two of us. Our children have grown and 'flew the coup'. Tastes good even after couple of days refrigerated. Reheat in toaster oven when ready to eat. Thanks for the recipe. Good day to you and your husband.
PS: Next cooking adventure: Will try your 'easy mini cheesecakes' Oh - I want to try many of your recipes!!!
Bea says
Hi Darwish! These tarts are one of our readers' favourites (including the mini cheesecakes 😁), I'm glad that you gave the recipe a try. Everything coconuts is delicious, right? Hope you'll like the cheesecakes also, thank you for your feedback and have a wonderful day ahead! ❤️
Dann says
I made these and they are delicious. They taste better the next day.
May says
Hi,
Am i able to bake this with Toaster oven?
Bea says
Hi May! I haven't tried it with it (don't have one) so I can't really say. Sorry though!
Sandrine says
Hi Béa thèse look yummy!
I don’t have those moulds at home. Could I use the muffin paper ones or even make a big tart out of it ?
I guess I will have to at least double the recipe?
Thanks so much!
Bea says
Hi Sandrine! I think it'll be better if you make a big tart since muffin papers are so soft. The amount depends on the tart size but yeah, try doubling it. You can also look at my dulce de leche tart recipe (big tart) to have some ideas. Hope it helps!