Baked Crispy Tapioca Pudding 脆皮西米焗布甸

Baked Crispy Tapioca Pudding 脆皮西米焗布甸 (Cantonese: cui pei sai mai goke bo deen) is a modernized version of a Hong Kong café classic dessert.  The original baked tapioca pudding 蓮蓉焗西米布甸 (leen yung goke sai mai bo deen) was with a lotus seed paste filling and no crispy crust topping.  The top of the custard has an egg wash and is baked until there are little black burnt spots which give it extra flavour.

The custard is basically a pastry cream with tapioca pearls.  With the rising price of the lotus seed paste, restaurants started using red bean paste as a cheaper alternative.  In the past 20 years, some people started to add a “pineapple crust” (similar to that on the pineapple bun) on top.  It was a brilliant idea!  You have a soft pudding with subtly chewy tapioca pearls and a light and crispy cookie topper. Furthermore, I love how the western vanilla pudding meets Chinese lotus seed paste making it a certified fusion dish.  And it all works so well together!

You can easily buy lotus seed paste from Chinese grocery stores.  But when I used it for my recipe, you couldn’t really see it in the photo since it blends in with the custard.  Since I love black sesame anything, I replaced the lotus seed paste with a black sesame paste.  I really like it, but my son prefers the former. 

I first had this pudding around 20 years ago.  Most Cantonese restaurants will provide a complimentary dessert, usually in the form of a sweet soup.  Golden Ocean Seafood Restaurant here in Vancouver would compliment you with their baked tapioca pudding.  Changing it up from the usual red bean soup was a real treat! I’m not sure if they still give it to you for free since I haven’t been there in years.  But I know they have it on their menu.

My Baked Crispy Tapioca Pudding 脆皮西米焗布甸 recipe will show you how to make this modern classic with simple ingredients.  However, to be honest, I’m not very skilled at making desserts and pastry cream is really hard for me!  I can’t seem to make it without lumps!  Luckily, with the help of tapioca pearls, you can’t even tell!  I’m pretty sure if I can make this, you definitely can too!

Looking for more Hong Kong style recipes? Check out my Hong Kong Cafe recipe section. I highly recommend the Hong Kong Style Borscht with Oxtail 牛尾羅宋湯, it's one of my favourite soups!

Baked Crispy Tapioca Pudding 脆皮西米焗布甸

I’ve included the recipe for a simple black sesame paste but you can also use lotus seed paste, red bean paste, puréed chestnuts, taro paste, peanut butter, Kaya jam, chocolate sauce, Nutella, fruit preserves, just to name a few!

No filling is also a great option!

I wanted to make the crust simple with easy to find ingredients, so it’s not exactly a pineapple crust (as in the crust on the pineapple bun) but it’s very similar and it’s crispy.

No crust is also an option. It’s actually how the original Hong Kong style baked tapioca pudding was made. Just finish with an egg-wash.

5 from 1 vote

Approximate cost (CAD) $6

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cantonese, Chinese

Servings 8 Servings

Calories 368 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Ingredients for Crispy Topping:

• 50 g Unsalted butter
• 50 g Sugar
• 100 g Cake flour
• 1 Egg yolk
• ¼ tsp Baking powder
• 1/8 tsp Baking soda

Ingredient for Sesame Paste:

• 60 g Black sesame powder
• 15 g Butter
• 2 tbsp Milk
• 65 g Sugar

Ingredients for Tapioca Custard:

• 100 g Uncooked tapioca pearls (approx. ½ cup)
• 250 ml Milk
• 5 tbsp Sugar
• 20 g Unsalted butter
• 2 Egg yolks
• 1 Egg
• 30 g Corn starch (approx. 2 ½ tbsp)
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 Egg (for egg-wash)

Instructions

 

Instructions for Crispy Topping:

• Combine 100g cake flour with ¼ tsp baking powder and 1/8 tsp baking soda in a bowl. Mix well and set aside
• Place 50g of unsalted butter in a mixing bowl. Add 50g of sugar. Mix well. I find that using your hands to blend is quick and effective
  
• Add 1 egg yolk to the butter mixture and mix well
  
• Add the cake flour mixture, mix well and form into a ball
  
• Put it in-between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and press with your hands or roll with a rolling pin until it can cover the baking pan that you’ll be using I used a 9.5” pie plate
  
• Place in the refrigerator to set for 45 minutes
  

Instructions for Black Sesame Paste:

• In a non-stick pan, on medium heat, add 15g butter, 60g black sesame powder and 4 tbsp sugar.
  
• Stir and mix into a paste
  
• Add 2 tbsp milk
• Cook for approx. 5 minutes
• Remove from heat and set aside
  

Instructions for Tapioca Custard (pastry cream)

• Bring a pot of water to a boil
• Add 100g of tapioca pearls, boil for 1 minute using a timer. Turn off heat and cover with a lid. Wait for 15 minutes
  
• After 15 minutes, check if tapioca is cooked (it’s cooked when they turn completely transparent). If you still see white in the pearls, put the cover back on and wait for another 5 minutes
  
• Drain tapioca in a colander and rinse with cold water
  
• Submerse the tapioca in cold water until ready to use to prevent clumping
• Combine 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks in a mixing bowl and add 2 tbsp sugar. Whisk until smooth
  
• Add 30g corn starch and whisk until smooth. Set aside
  
• In a sauce pan, add 250ml of milk and add 3 tbsp sugar. The sugar will help prevent scorching
  
• Bring the milk to a boil and pour ¼ of it into the egg mixture. Mix quickly until smooth
• Add the rest of the milk to the egg mixture. Mix until smooth
  
• Pour the egg mixture into the sauce pan
• Turn heat on medium-high
• Whisk vigorously until mixture thickens and is smooth. Turn off heat. Shamefully, I have never been able to make the custard completely smooth. I don’t think I whisk fast enough. This recipe is very forgiving though. Once you add the tapioca, you won’t notice any lumps.
  
• Add 1 tsp vanilla extract and 20g unsalted butter. Mix well
  
• Drain the tapioca pearls. Shake off excess water and pour into the custard. Mix well
  
• Scoop half of the tapioca custard and spread it evenly on the bottom of the pie pan
  
• Spread the black sesame paste on top of the tapioca custard It may be difficult to spread since the custard is soft so you may want to add dollops of the black sesame paste instead
  
• Cover with the remaining half of the tapioca custard. Spread it out evenly
  
• Take the crispy topping out of the fridge, unwrap the plastic wrap and place it on top
  
• Beat 1 egg and brush egg onto the top of the crust
  
• Bake at 200˚C or 400˚F for 20 minutes
• Let cool for 5 minutes before serving

Nutrition

Calories: 368kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 7gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 80mgPotassium: 122mgFiber: 1gSugar: 24gVitamin A: 480IUCalcium: 142mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Black Sesame, Dessert, Tapioca

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