This baked tapioca pudding is made with a custardy tapioca pudding and a crisp pineapple bun crust on top. It tastes as good as the ones served at Chinese restaurants but you can easily make it at home!
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Once in a while, there will be desserts that I make that really, really excite me (all desserts excite me so that's saying a lot) and this is one of them! I've wanted to make baked tapioca pudding myself for a while since it's kind of a special treat that I only eat on occasion at Chinese restaurants. It has always been one of my favourites but there aren't too many recipes online for this delicious dessert. Turns out, it's not that hard to make at home!
If you're familiar with making pastry cream, the custard filling is basically the same as making pastry cream except you mix it with tapioca pearls to make this pudding. The crust is borrowed directly from a pineapple bun topping which is sweet, crunchy, and baked until shiny and golden brown.
This is the perfect dessert for Lunar New Year and would definitely be a crowd-pleaser as it's "not too sweet". I'm already planning on making it again (twice in one week!) and I hope you love it too!
What is baked tapioca pudding?
Baked tapioca pudding is a Cantonese dessert originating from Hong Kong. It's made with a base of custard-like tapioca pudding and topped with a crisp and crunchy crust that resembles the diamond-patterned topping of Chinese pineapple buns. Sometimes it's made with a layer of filling in the middle such as taro paste (recipe for taro paste in my Taro Milk Bubble Tea recipe), black sesame paste, red bean paste, or chestnut paste.
It's typically served freshly baked and warm for dessert at Chinese restaurants. You'll need to pre-order it a day ahead of time at most restaurants since there's prep work involved and it isn't pre-made as part of their regular dessert offerings every day.
Why you'll love this recipe
- This baked tapioca pudding is just like the ones served for dessert at Chinese restaurants.
- It's crisp and crunchy on top while soft and custardy on the inside.
- The tapioca pearls give this pudding a fun and satisfying texture.
- There are a few components to this dessert but I've broken them down to their simplest forms so that the recipe is easy to follow.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Milk powder - This really gives the crust its unique flavour that you can find in Chinese baked goods. It gives it a milky and creamy taste without adding any liquid to the crust.
- Salt
- Unsalted butter - This needs to be softened to room temperature so that it's easy to mix without an electric mixer and creates a soft dough.
- Granulated sugar - You'll need this for both the crust topping and the tapioca pudding.
- Eggs - You'll need 4 large eggs in total for this recipe. The 1 egg going into the crust needs to be at room temperature. It doesn't matter for the other 3 eggs but I'd take all of them out of the fridge anyways so that you don't forget.
- Vanilla extract - Adds a lovely fragrant flavour and scent to the dessert.
- Uncooked tapioca pearls (sago) - You'll need the tapioca pearls (also known as "sago") that are tiny and white when uncooked. Cook these with plenty of water since they thicken the water as they cook and always keep them submerged in cold water after cooking.
- Milk - Any dairy or non-dairy milk works here but I like the mild taste of dairy milk in this pudding.
- Cornstarch - This helps thicken the custard as it cooks.
How to make baked tapioca pudding
For the crust topping
Mix dry ingredients - In a small bowl, stir together flour, milk powder, and salt. Set aside.
Cream together wet ingredients - In a medium mixing bowl, use a spatula or whisk to cream the softened butter with the granulated sugar until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Form the dough - Add the flour mixture and mix again until it forms a soft dough.
Roll out the dough - Place the dough in between two sheets of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to about ⅛"-¼" thick. Let this chill in the fridge laying flat until solid, about 1 hour.
For the tapioca pudding
Cook the tapioca pearls - Fill a medium pot full with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add in the tapioca pearls and give it a stir. Boil for 15 minutes until the tapioca is mostly translucent with a tiny dot of white in the middle. Cover, remove from the heat, and let sit for 10 minutes until the tapioca are completely translucent. Drain the tapioca pearls in a fine mesh sieve and keep submerged in cold water until ready to use.
Mix egg mixture - In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
Temper egg mixture with hot milk - In a small pot, heat milk on medium heat until small bubbles start coming to the surface and it just starts simmering. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking quickly and constantly with your other hand to temper the eggs.
Cook custard - Pour the entire mixture back into the pot and return it to low-medium heat. Continue whisking the mixture constantly until it thickens into a custard consistency, about 8-10 minutes.
Fill baking dish - Remove the custard from the heat. Add the drained tapioca pearls and stir to combine. Transfer this whole mixture to an 8-9" baking dish.
Prep - Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Cover with crust dough - Take your rolled out crust topping out of the fridge and peel off the parchment paper. Place the dough on top of the tapioca in the baking dish. Use a knife to trim off any overhanging excess.
Score & apply egg wash - Use a knife to score a diamond pattern on top of the crust. Brush a light layer of beaten egg on the crust.
Bake - Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let the baked tapioca pudding cool on a wire rack for at least 20-30 minutes so the filling can set before serving warm.
Storage
This baked tapioca pudding is best served on the same day it is made but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days. Reheat before serving.
Tips & tricks
- Cook the tapioca pearls in a full pot of water. The tapioca starch thickens the water quite a bit as it cooks so use more water than you think you need for the small amount of dry tapioca. This small amount absorbs the water and increases in size significantly.
- Keep the cooked tapioca pearls submerged in cold water. This prevents the tapioca from clumping together and drying out before you're ready to use them. Drain away the water before adding the tapioca to the custard.
- Roll the crust dough out thinner or thicker as desired. Roll it out to ¼" for a thick and crunchy cookie-like crust. Roll it out to ⅛" for a thinner, crackly crust. Bake until the crust is golden brown - longer if it's thicker and shorter if it's thinner.
- Whisk constantly when tempering the eggs. Pour the hot milk into the egg mixture slowly with one hand and whisk quickly and constantly with the other hand. You don't want to make scrambled eggs. Do the same when cooking the mixture into a custard. It will start out watery and it'll seem like nothing's happening but keep whisking! The change in thickness happens suddenly.
- Let the tapioca pudding cool slightly to firm up. It's tempting to dig in when it's piping hot from the oven but the filling needs a bit of time to set. Cool for 20-30 minutes before serving. The pudding will still be warm but it won't fall apart.
Frequently asked questions
Tapioca and sago are different but the terms are often used interchangeably. Real sago is made from the starch of the sago palm whereas tapioca is made from the starch of the cassava root. Most desserts nowadays made with sago are actually referring to tapioca pearls, because sago is difficult and expensive to produce. Tapioca has long been used as a substitute for real sago but the name ”sago” has stuck over time.
Drain the water from your tapioca pearls and replace it with cold water to stop the cooking process. When you're ready to use the tapioca pearls, drain the water away again down the sink.
More tapioca recipes to try
Recipe
Baked Tapioca Pudding
Ingredients
Crust Topping
- 220 g all-purpose flour
- 25 g milk powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 135 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 135 g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Tapioca Pudding
- 100 g uncooked tapioca pearls (sago)
- 350 g milk
- 2 large eggs
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 30 g cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg, beaten
Instructions
Crust Topping
- In a small bowl, stir together flour, milk powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, use a spatula or whisk to cream the softened butter with the granulated sugar until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix again until it forms a soft dough.
- Place the dough in between two sheets of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to about ⅛"-¼" thick. Let this chill in the fridge laying flat until solid, about 1 hour.
Tapioca Pudding
- Fill a medium pot full with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add in the tapioca pearls and give it a stir. Boil for 15 minutes until the tapioca is mostly translucent with a tiny dot of white in the middle. Cover, remove from the heat, and let sit for 10 minutes until the tapioca are completely translucent.
- Drain the tapioca pearls in a fine mesh sieve and keep submerged in cold water until ready to use.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- In a small pot, heat milk on medium heat until small bubbles start coming to the surface and it just starts simmering. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking quickly and constantly with your other hand to temper the eggs.
- Pour the entire mixture back into the pot and return it to low-medium heat. Continue whisking the mixture constantly until it thickens into a custard consistency, about 8-10 minutes.
- Remove the custard from the heat. Add the drained tapioca pearls and stir to combine. Transfer this whole mixture to an 8-9" baking dish.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Take your rolled out crust topping out of the fridge and peel off the parchment paper. Place the dough on top of the tapioca in the baking dish. Use a knife to trim off any overhanging excess.
- Use a knife to score a diamond pattern on top of the crust. Brush a light layer of beaten egg on the crust.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let the baked tapioca pudding cool on a wire rack for at least 20-30 minutes so the filling can set before serving warm.
Natalie
Do you think it'd be okay to use a milk alternative for the tapioca pudding? Like oat milk.
Gail Ng
Yes! You can use any dairy or non-dairy milk.