Yema Tart with Kalamay

This Yema Tart with Kalamay is a Filipino pastry that is everything all at once. Crispy, chewy and creamy.

I came up with this idea after eating an egg tart layered with sticky rice from a Chinese Bakery down in San Jose. I can't remember the name of the place.

Oooh, I thought I can put Kalamay into a tart!

Testing of this recipe took 5 tries. The first iteration was mixing glutinous rice flour into the egg mixture. That didn't work and didn't even make the batter chewy.

Eventually I figured out that the Kalamay needed to be cooked and chewy already and that the top mixture had to be quite heavy or dense so that it didn't bake into the Kalamay.

So let's make this Yema Tart with Kalamay together!

Make The Kalamay

Yup, the first thing you need to do is make the kalamay. It's just going to be a plain coconut one. You will need the following 3 ingredients.

Coconut Milk - We are going to use a whole 13.5oz can of coconut milk.

Sweet Glutinous Rice Flour - Measure out ½ cup of it.

Sugar - For just a touch of sweetness add 2 tablespoons of it into the kalamay.

Add all the ingredients into a non stick pan and mix well.

Place the pan over your smallest burner and cook on high heat. You will be constantly stirring for 7 minutes until the Kalamay is nice and thick, but still a tad runny. It will firm up more when baked into the tart.

It should look like the photo below. Transfer to a bowl to cool down to room temperature.

Ingredients for Yema Kalamay Tart

Frozen Puff Pastry Dough - You will only need half of the packet. Follow the package directions to defrost the dough properly.

Cooked Kalamay - You will use 12 teaspoons of it and will have a bit left over for chefs treat.

Cooked Yema Spread - You will use 12 tablespoons of the Yema spread. Use this recipe to make it.

How to Make Yema Tart with Kalamay

First pre-heat your oven to 400F and spray a 12 cup muffin tin with baking spray or oil.

Next prepare the dough.

Working fast so that the dough stays cold. If you are unsure of your timing place the remaining dough in the refrigerator to stay cold while you roll out your first pieces.

Use a rolling pin or glass jar to roll the dough disks into a flat circle. Roll them out to at least 2 ½ to 3 inches.

Carefully transfer the dough into one of the muffin tins and repeat the process until all the dough is used.

Now we are going to start layering the Yema Tart with Kalamay. Use a 1 teaspoon mini ice cream scoop or a teaspoon to layer on the cooked kalamay.

No need to spread it as it will spread on it's own.

Next add 1 tablespoon of Yema spread on top of the Kalamay.

Finally you are ready to bake the Yema Tarts with Kalamay. Bake first for 10 minutes and then turn the pan 180 degrees and bake for a further 7 minutes until the top and pastry are slightly browned.

Transfer to a wire rack to fully cool.

I mean look at that bottom. Super flakey spirals!

And of course look at this kalamay pull.

Each bite of your Yema Tart with Kalamay is crispy from the pastry, chewy from the kalamay and creamy from the Yema. Heaven.

How to Store

These tarts will keep in a cake dome for up to 3 days. If you have any left over wrap them individually and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To re-heat take out of the freezer and place on the counter top to get to room temperature and then bake for 5 minutes at 350F to get crispy again.

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