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Hong Kong Egg Waffles aka Hong Kong Egg Puffs or Hong Kong Eggettes
Ginger and Scotch

Hong Kong Egg Cakes (Gai Daan Jai - 鷄蛋仔)

4.88 from 40 votes
A popular street food in Hong Kong, I first came across these little egg cakes as a child growing up in New York City’s Chinatown. From a tiny red stall on Mosco Street, Cecilia Tam churned out pan after pan of these eggettes for over a decade but when she closed up shop, she left many die-hard followers forever craving her perfectly fluffy and heavenly egg cakes. This recipe is as satisfying for me as the Cecilia Tam original.
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Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Snack
Cuisine: Chinese
Calories: 365
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour (4 oz or 120 g)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon tapioca starch (or corn starch)
  • 1 tablespoon custard powder (optional)
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup sugar (4 oz or 120 g)
  • 2 tablespoons evaporated milk
  • 5 oz water
  • 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or vanilla essence)
  • more vegetable oil for brushing/spraying on the egg waffle pan

Method
 

  1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, tapioca or corn starch, and optional custard powder with a spoon or fork. You can also sieve these dry ingredients but I didn't bother.
  2. Add the eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract/essence. Give it a whirl with an electric mixer (start at low speed so the flour doesn't erupt out of the bowl and increase to medium speed) or spatula. Alternatively, mix by hand with a wire whisk.
  3. Pour in the evaporated milk and water. Mix thoroughly.
  4. It may be slightly lumpy and this point and I found that letting it stand for an hour (whether in room temperature or fridge) helped dissolve the lumps.
  5. Set a wire rack on a baking sheet or large plate.
  6. Pre-heat each half of the Nordic Ware Egg Waffle Pan on separate burners over medium-high heat until hot. I pre-heated mine for 5 minutes.
  7. Lightly brush or spritz each pan with vegetable oil. Lower heat to medium.
  8. Pour ¾ cup of the batter into the middle of the egg waffle pan (if you pour too much, it will either leak out the side or prevent the waffle pan from closing tightly) and give the pan a quick swirl to distribute some of the batter to the outer holes.
  9. Immediately place the other side of the pan on top, flip the pan over and cook for 2 to 2.5 minutes.
  10. Flip again and cook for a further 2 to 2.5 minutes. Exact timing will depend on your stove and heat output.
  11. Open the pan and invert the eggettes onto the wire rack and let cool for a minute or so. I used a plastic fork to help loosen the egg cakes from the mold.
  12. Repeat with the remaining batter. Enjoy!

Notes

-Egg Waffle Pan can be purchased here.
-Makes 2 cups of batter and 3 batches of eggettes.