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
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.
CYQ says
tried it today & love it! simple & easy steps and not need to buy ingredients that’s not used often! win-win!
Beatrice Yuen says
This is a great recipe, highly recommended! 👍👍👍Simple and easy to make Most important is the coconut tarts taste so delicious and smell so great that makes your mouth watery😋😋😋
Everyone should give a try, Thanks for sharing this fantastic video ❤❤❤💯💯💯
Bea says
Yay! I'm so happy you enjoyed the tarts 😀 they smell incredible, right? Thank you so much for leaving your comment!
Bernie says
Thank you for this recipe, turned out perfectly!
Bea says
You're welcome Bernie!
Ada says
Hi !!:)
Can I know how long we can keep this coconut tarts in the freezer?
Or if I dont want to put in freezer, how long at room T ?
Mary Read says
Hi Bea,
I added a small teaspoon of raspberry jam in the bottom of the shell. Taste awesome.
Bea says
Sounds amazing, glad you liked it. Thanks Mary!
Nora Affandi says
Tried this taste sooo good, I baked at night time and the whole house smells buttery milky coconut TQ for sharing this recipe
Bea says
Awesome! Yes the smell is just so heavenly, right? Thank you for your feedback Nora 😍!
Catherine says
Hi Bea, if I am using custard powder., is it the same amount as the ap flour?
Christine says
Hi Bea, thank you for sharing so many Malaysian recipes (makes me miss KL so much). I’ve a question regarding the baking temperature for these tarts. What is the recommended temperature for a conventional oven? Can’t wait to try baking them here in Canada! Terima kasih! 🙂
Bea says
Hi Christine! I'd recommend 400ºF (200ºC) temperature and bake until they turn golden brown. Baking minutes might vary. Yes, me too! Malaysian food is always dear to my heart. Terima kasih and enjoy the tarts!
Heslinda Hilary says
Hai Mrs Bea!
Thanks for sharing us the easiest and simple coconut tart. I'm going to try this recipe for my school, since it was my school project. Thank You!
lots of love from Malaysia
Bea says
Hi Heslinda! I'm glad that you're going to give this a go. Many of my readers have made and absolutely loved them. Let me know how it goes, thank you my fellow Malaysian!
Santhi Kadiresan says
I baked them today and it tastes sooo good . Super easy recipe . Thanks for sharing.
Bea says
Awesome! I'm glad that you liked them. Thank you Santhi!
Nubian says
Hi Bea!
Thanks so much for posting such simple and easy to follow instructions and video. I love eating these and would make a weekly trip to 85° Bakery to indulge but now that I've made them, they taste just as good as theirs! My beyond happy with my first attempt and practising a lot of restraint to not eat more than 2 lol...oh and the kids love them too! Will have to double the batch next time.
Bea says
Haha! Yes, they are addictive aren't they? Glad that everybody loved them. Thank you Nubian!
Elaine says
Such an easy recipe to follow. I only got 7 tarts...wonder if my crust is too thick overall. But my kitchen smells awesome, reminds me of a dim sum place. Thank you for sharing.
Reyna Jauregui says
Yes the crust is flaky and the filling not so sweet... Perfect! Thanks my kids love it!
me says
great recipe
Bea says
Thank you!
lilik says
Hi Bea, ive made this a couple of times because one of my friend was craving for coconut tarts like the ones she used to eat during her school years. They are delicious and i keep on making them because they are so easy to make. I use freshly grated coconuts, for it is easy to buy in Indonesia, and reduce the amount of milk by a little. I also use vanilla bean paste for the coconut filling and they give a lovely tiny black specks. Thank you for the lovely recipe.
Bea says
That's great Lilik! Your friend is very lucky! I'm happy to know that you both enjoyed it, thank you for your feedback!
Elaine says
Hi. What size are the cupcake tins? I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing.
Bea says
Hi Elaine! The tart moulds measurement is in the recipe card above, hope it helps. Thank you!