Milk tart or better known as “melk tert” is by far the most supreme South African dessert. The dessert originated by Dutch Settlers in the Cape Colony in the 17th Century. The milk tart is so popular that you will find it in every bakery, bake sale, market and on a table for Sunday afternoon tea. It is traditionally South African and engrained in our heritage as a delicacy.
It’s name itself gives one and indication that a high quantity of milk is required – I prefer using full cream milk. Although there are so many different recipes and methods out there; a traditional milk presents a perfect crust, silky smooth custardy filling sprinkled with ground cinnamon.
To some making a milk tart from scratch seems complicated. Often people rely on their local supermarket to supply them with one. Don’t worry – it requires no special skill and once you’ve made your own, you won’t buy from the supermarket again.
For my milk tart recipe, I use the flaky buttery pastry as the crust. It is quick and easy and requires no blind baking as long as the pastry is cold. I also like to add the ground cinnamon before baking but you are more than welcome to add it only after it has baked.
Tips for making a Milk Tart
- The star ingredients are milk and eggs for the custard filling – therefore make sure that your ingredients are fresh.
- Use full cream milk
- Measure your quantities with measuring cups and spoons.
- Add cinnamon sticks to the milk when you warm it, it will infuse the cinnamon flavor in the milk.
- Make sure you remove the cinnamon sticks before you add the flour-egg mixture to the milk.
- Store in the fridge for 3 days but I won’t recommend freezing it as it will compromise the flavour.
Milk Tart
Ingredients
- 1 half cold flaky buttery pastry (see previous post for recipe)
- 1 L full cream milk
- 4 small cinnamon sticks
- 3 XL eggs (separated)
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup cake flour
- ¼ cup corn flour
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 20 g unsalted butter
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Roll out your cold pastry on a floured surface and press into a 23cm round glass pie dish. With a fork prick small holes on the base. Refrigerate for 15 – 20 minutes.
- Warm up 750ml of milk with 4 cinnamon sticks in a pot over medium heat – do not bring the milk to a boil.
- Add sugar, cake flour and corn flour to a separate boil. Then add the egg yolk and 250ml of milk. Wisk generously.
- Remove the milk from the stove and remove cinnamon sticks.
- Temper the flour-egg mixture with some of the warm milk and whisk.
- Return the milk to the stove and slowly add the four-egg mixture. Whisking continuously until the mixture thickens.
- Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form.
- Remove from the stove, then add the vanilla essence and butter and stir in until well incorporated.
- Gently fold in egg whites to the custard mixture.
- Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and pour in the filling.
- Sprinkle ground cinnamon on top.
- Bake in a preheated oven set at 180°C for 40 minutes.
- Allow the tart to cool before slicing.
