Air-Fried Chinese Sugar Egg Puffs are an air-fried version of the classic Dim Sum favorite, which features granulated sugar-covered choux pastry.
One of the restaurants my family eats at most often is a specific Dim Sum restaurant. Though we have tried several others, we stick to our favorite for a couple of reasons: 1. We like the food and the menu. 2. There is a small chance we will get to order Chinese Sugar Egg Puffs.
The restaurant we go to (Jumbo Dim Sum) is the only local restaurant I know of that serves these delectable treats, and they only serve them on weekends. Even if you go on a weekend to try and score some, the chances are still slim.
They disappear from the dim sum carts almost as soon as they emerge from the kitchen. Mr. Dreamboat and I know that if we ever see them passing by our table, we scoop them up immediately, whether we're ready for dessert or not.
What are Chinese Sugar Egg Puffs?
Sugar Egg Puffs are a type of doughnut made from choux pastry. With a texture similar to churros, they are deep-fried, then coated in granulated sugar.
Though in my experience, they are generally uncommon (I think this is because they take a long time to deep-fry), they are most often available in dim sum restaurants, or maybe Chinese bakeries. The ones I have had are about the size of a baseball.
Chinese Sugar Egg Puffs might be confused with Chinese long doughnuts (also commonly known simply as Chinese Doughnuts) and Chinese Buffet-Style Doughnuts (these are sometimes called Chinese Sugar Doughnuts). Both are different from each other and from Sugar Egg Puffs.
How to make Air-Fried Sugar Egg Puffs
Making these delightful crisp yet custardy puffs starts with making choux pastry batter. If you haven't made it before, it's unlike making any other cake batter or cookie dough you've ever made.
Making choux pastry starts in a saucepan on the stovetop. Add the butter, water, salt, and sugar to the saucepan and cook until the mixture comes to a boil. Stir in the flour. The mixture will immediately start to thicken. Keep stirring to break down any large lumps of flour and cool until it forms a sticky ball.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and transfer the sticky dough to a mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer). Let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a measuring cup or small bowl and beat lightly with a fork.
While you're waiting for the dough to cool, you can also prepare some parchment squares to cook the puffs on. Cut about 14-15 roughly 3-inch squares of parchment paper, and set them aside.
Once the dough has cooled, add the eggs. Mix the eggs into the dough using a hand mixer (make sure to hold the bowl tightly, as the dough will be stiff) or stand mixer. At first, the dough will break apart and appear curdled, but keep mixing and it will come back together again to form a sticky ball.
Scoop the batter into roughly 2 Tablespoon portions and put each one onto a parchment square. Brush each portion of batter lightly but completely with a little canola oil (or use another neutral-flavored oil).
Place all of the batter portions on their parchment squares onto (or into) your air-fryer basket. Note that you may need to do this in two separate batches to cook them all, depending on the size of your air-fryer. Alternatively, you can cook the puffs on a baking sheet using your oven's convection setting (use the same temperature as the air-fryer instructions).
Once the puffs are cooked (you'll know they're done when they're all golden brown on the outside), brush 1-2 at a time lightly with oil again, then immediately toss them in granulated sugar. Repeat this with all of the puffs, and serve immediately.
Air-Fried Sugar Egg Puffs Leftovers
Unfortunately, these Sugar Egg Puffs don't hold very well (I suspect the deep-fried restaurant version doesn't either, but I've never had leftovers, so I don't know for sure). It's best to eat them while they're still warm out of the air-fryer.
However, if that's not possible, avoid keeping them in a sealed container, as this will cause them to get soggy quickly. Leave them in open air at room temperature, maybe covered with a clean towel to avoid any dust from getting to them, and eat them within a day. If you want to reheat them, simply pop them back into the air-fryer at 350°F for 3-4 minutes.
Air-Fried Sugar Egg Puffs Ingredients
- Water - use whatever water you normally drink. Cold tap water is fine.
- Unsalted butter - replace with dairy-free butter alternative to make these egg puffs dairy-free
- Granulated sugar - you will need sugar both for the choux pastry batter and to roll the finished egg puffs in.
- Salt
- All-purpose flour
- Large eggs
- Neutral-flavored cooking oil or melted unsalted butter - this is to brush on the choux pastry before air-frying to help replicate a deep-fried texture, and again after air-frying to help the sugar stick to them.
Want more "no-fry" recipes?
Air-Fried Sugar Egg Puffs Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one small Sugar Egg Puff (I made 14 of them with the recipe).
In order to be conservative with the calculations, I used the full 2 Tablespoons of neutral oil, even though you will probably have some left over (I used about half of the 2 Tablespoons). I also included the full ½ cup of granulated sugar to roll the Puffs in (I used most of mine).
To make these Sugar Egg Puffs dairy-free, replace the butter in the batter with a dairy-free butter alternative.
Air-Fried Chinese Sugar Egg Puffs
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- If you will be using a convection oven, move the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450°F.
- Add 1 cup (237 g) water, ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter, 1 Tablespoon (12 g) granulated sugar, and ¼ teaspoon (1.5 g) salt to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and add 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour. Stir the mixture with a rubber spatula, smoothing out any lumps of dry flour. Continue to cook and stir until the mixture is mostly smooth, with a thick, paste-like consistency, about 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer the flour mixture to a mixing bowl and let it cool for 5-10 minutes. While you're waiting, cut 14-15 small (about 3-inch) squares of parchment paper. Set aside. Pour 2 Tablespoons (28 g) neutral-flavored cooking oil or melted unsalted butter into a small bowl and get out a silicone brush (alternatively, use an oil sprayer if you have one).
- Crack 2 large eggs into a small bowl or measuring cup and lightly beat them together with a fork.
- Add the eggs to the bowl with the flour mixture. Beat together with a hand mixer until the egg is fully incorporated. Make sure to hold your mixer and the bowl firmly, as the batter will be very stiff (alternatively, you could use a stand mixer). Note that when you first add the eggs, the batter will intitially separate and look curdled. Keep mixing until the batter comes together. It will still be quite thick and pasty.
- Scoop the batter in about 2 Tablespoon portions into the centers of the parchment squares. Brush each of the batter portions lightly but completely with the oil or melted butter. Place the parchment squares containing the batter into your air-fryer or onto a baking sheet at least 2 inches apart (depending on your air-fryer, you may need to cook them in two separate batches). While they're cooking, put ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar into a medium bowl.
- Air-fry or bake for 10-14 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Immediately brush all of the puffs lightly again with the oil or melted butter, then shake one or two pieces at a time gently in the bowl of sugar until the sugar is coating the outsides of the puffs. Repeat with all of the remaining puffs.
- Serve immediately, as the puffs will turn soggy a few hours later, especially if you put them in an airtight container. If you need to reheat the puffs, put them in the air-fryer at 350°F for about 3-5 minutes.
Nutrition
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