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.
Nutrition Facts
The nutrition facts provided are an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sharon says
Hi Bea,
Thank you very much for this recipe. Made them today and the recipe for the crust is spot on! I used the fresh grated coconut that I have in my freezer, 130gms and 70gms sugar instead of 65gms. Luckily it worked out. Thanks again, will make it for the coming RMCO gathering in KL.
Stay safe!
Bea says
That's awesome Sharon, thank you for your sharing your twist on it and your feedback. Have fun!
Mel says
Hello! Just wanted to say thanks for the awesome recipe. Your instructions and video made it really easy to follow. My first attempt ever at making coconut tarts were a success 😍 Love your tart pastry recipe too and have used it to make little cream cheese tarts too. Do you think I could use this pastry for savoury quiche? 🙂
Bea says
Glad that you liked it, Mel! Yes, for me you can use it for both sweet and savoury. Hope it helps!
Sangheetha says
Wonderful recipe, it turned out so great. My family requested me to do it again today. Just love how simple the ingredients are and anyone can make it at home. The only thing I added was some almond powder to the filling and it tasted so yummy.
Bea says
Awesome idea Sangheetha! I'm glad that everybody loved it, thank you!
googoosh says
Thank you. I will try that. Its amazing 🙂
Grace Ting says
Wow, Bea, I have just finished making these delicious tarts and they are all GONE! My family has just snatched them up and gobbled them all down! I cannot believe how simple and easy they were to make, especially as I have been searching all afternoon to find a recipe without custard powder, and HALLELUJAH I found this one! As a person of Hong Kong descent, this scrumptious treat takes me down memory lane as I frequently eat coconut tarts when I visit Hong Kong (they are truly irresistible)! During this time, I will continue to search your website for some of my other favorites! What do you suggest I make next? Thank you so much, once again! Stay safe, all the best xx 😄
Silvia says
Thank you for this recipe! I’m a Hong Kong-ie living in rural New Zealand and to get to the closest Asian bakery I would have to drive an hour and a half!
Made this (my fave childhood snack) and it tastes just perfect! Although I cheated and just used shop bought pastry. Thank you again 😊
Bea says
Coming from a Hong Kong-ie, that makes me so happy! And no worries, I cheat now and then also. Thank you so much for your feedback Silvia, stay safe! 😊
Megan says
Just made these! Super delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Bea says
I'm glad that you like them, thank you Megan!
Iris Zheng says
Easy & Delicious!
Bea says
Thank you so much Iris! XO
Eileen says
Do we need to butter the tart mould before use?
Brenda Lee says
It’s super delicious and easy to make! We love coconut desserts these turn out exactly the same flavour that we had back in Malaysia, our craving is satisfied! The ingredients are easy to source and when I say easy to make trust me I honestly meant it as i’m a newbie when it comes to baking. I did some tricks when assembling the pastry crust. I used rolling pin to flatten the dough to desire thickness and laid them in the muffin pan as I do not have fluted tart moulds. I will give 10/10! Thanks Bea for this wonderful recipe. Love it - Adelaide, Australia (Oct 2019)
Cat Om says
5 stars! I love it because you don't add custard powder like the rest of recipes out there. They tasted very delicious, god bless you. Thank you! Cat Om- UK
Bea says
Yeay, I'm happy to hear that! Thank you so much Cat! XO
J lee says
Thanks for the recipe. Came out rather well except my casing were too thin n it crumbled. Will definitely make again. I did a slight tweak. I added a extra egg yolk to the coconut mix for a deeper color.
Ms Hyde
Bea says
I'm happy to know you gave it a try. The shells recipe is meant for the amount and mould size as mentioned. If you're making more, or using bigger size moulds then perhaps you might want to consider doubling the recipe so that the shells are not too thin. Hope it helps! 🙂
Ed says
Hi Bea! I chanced upon this recipe while searching for tarts recipe. I gave it a try they came out so good!!!! Do u know why my tart came out crumbly? And they were all stuck to the mould I had a hard time getting them out. Any tips? But overall the taste is heavenly we love it!
Bea says
Hi Ed! Maybe they were a bit undercooked? That's why it was difficult to take them out and they were crumbly. Hope it helps, glad you liked the taste though!
shixxchu says
Tried the recipe yesterday and my family requested me to make them again today, they are in the oven now! They are very delicious and easy to make, I just reduced the amount of sugar in the filling because my family doesn’t like things all too sweet. I also just recently made some white almond paste and added that to it as well, it tastes like those Ferrero Raffaelo Pralines!😊 Thank you so much!
alan says
Can I use real coconut instead of decicated coconut
Bea says
Yes you can but you need to adjust the amount though.
Theo says
I just made a batch of these exactly as described and they were PERFECT!
And all natural ingedients without need for custard powder. Mine didn't get a chance to cool completely, they are so delicious warm. Thank you,
Bea says
Yes, I do try my best to use basic/natural ingredients as much as I can. Happy to know that you loved them, thank you Theo!
Theo in Amsterdam says
Hi Bea. The pastry on these was yummy and so easy. You say you use it as your go-to pastry for other recipes, and I'd like to do the same. If I use it for a more fluid filling ( lemon custard tarts) do I need to pre-bake or "blind-bake" the tarts crust with this pastry first (which was not necessary with the coconut tarts)?
By popular demand, I need to make more of your coconut tarts tonight for the weekend and think I'll upgrade them a little bit with vanilla bean (instead of essence) and add some shaved coconut (as for macaroons) replacing 50% of the simple dessicated, for added texture.
Bea says
Hi Theo! Yes, do blind-bake it first if you're using a more fluid filling or when the filling is already cooked. I'm happy to know that everybody loved it and your own touch sounds great! Thank you!
Mike Berryessa says
If your living in Spain. Perhaps you could share a recipe for Spanish hot chocolate. The thick kind! That's like pudding. MY SPANISH TEACHER TOLD ME OF THIS HOT CHOCOLATE MANY YEARS AGO! THANKS!
Bea says
Will look into it, thanks for your suggestion Mike!
maritza cardona says
I give it a 5 plus
E. Smith says
A very nice recipe. I will definitely try it. It looks delicious. Definitely a 10
Bea says
Thank you! If you want, you can put the star ratings also.
Bea says
Thank you so much Maritza! XOXO
maritza cardona says
El Mundo. your site is admirable and one of the best I have encountered. your recipes are easy and a delight and printable which is wonderful. thank you. I always try them and they always come out the way your present them on your channel. again.... thank of a recipe book published.
Bea says
Thank you for your kind words, Maritza. I'm happy to know that you're enjoying the recipes. XOXO