Korean Egg Tarts

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The first time I had ever heard about an Egg Tart, I was watching a K-Drama. Parents were handing them out to their children. The kids were so happy.

When I went to visit my daughter for the first time in Korea, I could not resist all the different bakeries on her block. Some prepared traditional rice cakes and others prepared more familiar pastries. One of the bakeries had these tarts on the counter. I bought one because I could not resist.

The tart itself was quite dark. The filling was blistered and looked brûléed. When I bit into it I was expecting a sweet custard, but this filling was only slightly sweet and not as smooth and silky a custard. It is a bit more eggy than I thought it would be. I loved it.

When I came back to the US, I tried a variety of places that said they had egg tarts but they were very different from the Korean Egg Tart. Some were much sweeter and others were more dense. I researched the recipe online. I only found a handful and I tried making all of them but none were exactly right. After a bunch of experimentation and many failures, I think I have come up with the closest batch. I am not a baker, so this was an adventure in itself. My family was more than happy to be my taste testers.

I hope you enjoy them.

Korean Egg Tarts

Crust
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 pinch salt

Filling
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 pinch salt
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
You will also need:
• 1 Tbsp melted butter or neutral tasting oil for cooking (This is to prepare the pan)
• Basic Cupcake pan

Takes 45 minutes, serves 12 tarts.

Crust
• 1. Mix all the flour, powdered sugar and salt together ingredients in a large bowl.
• 2. Cut the butter into the flour and mix together until a sandy consistency.
• 3. In a different bowl, beat the egg and vanilla extract together.
• 4. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture. Knead until stiff dough.
• 5. Grease the cupcake pan with the melted butter, oil, or cooking spray. I used the wrapper from the sticks of butter.
• 6. Roll the dough into 1 in. balls. Press a ball into each cupcake cup. Spread it evenly onto the bottom and line the sides of each cup.
• 7. Place the prepared tin in the freezer for 15 minutes
• 8. Preheat your oven at 480 degrees.
Filling
• 9. In a separate bowl, beat the 4 eggs.
• 10. Beat in the sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and evaporated milk.
• 11. Warm the heavy cream (45 seconds in the microwave).
• 12. Slowly whisk the warm heavy cream into the egg mixture.
• 13. Strain the liquid to make sure there are no lumps.
• 14. Once ready, remove the cupcake tin from the freezer and fill the cups.
• 15. Bake the tarts at 480 degrees for 15 minutes. Checking regularly. Once the filling has puffed up completely and the tarts start to brown, reduce the heat to 450 degrees for 10 minutes or until the egg mixture seems cooked through. Not that the edges of the shell will become dark. Once they are cooked, remove from the oven and let cool before removing from pan. Enjoy.