Milk tart (melktert)
South African cinnamon custard tart with a crisp sweet pastry case
Melktert is South Africa's coffee-time tart, made by Afrikaner and Cape Malay families alike, sold at church bazaars and in farm stalls along the Garden Route, and even celebrated with its own National Milk Tart Day on 27 February. A crisp sweet pastry case holds a thick, wobbly custard made with milk and flavoured with a cinnamon stick, then finished with a heavy dusting of ground cinnamon. It is lighter and more milky than a baked egg custard tart. Chef's tip: stir the custard constantly as it thickens and keep cooking for 2 minutes after it bubbles so the flour loses its raw taste.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
For the pastry
For the filling
Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Mix 7 oz plain flour and 1 tsp baking powder, rub in 3 ½ oz cold butter until it looks like breadcrumbs, then stir in 2 ⅛ oz caster sugar. Add 1 egg and bring together to a soft dough. Wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
Step 2: Heat the oven to 375°F (350°F fan). Roll the pastry out and line a 24 cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Prick the base and line with baking paper and baking beans.
Step 3: Bake blind for 15 minutes, remove the paper and beans and bake for 8–10 minutes more until golden and crisp. Leave to cool.
25 minStep 4: Heat 1 litre full-fat milk, 1 cinnamon stick and 1 oz butter in a saucepan over a medium heat until steaming and just about to boil.
8 minStep 5: Whisk 4 oz caster sugar, 3 eggs, 1 ¾ oz cornflour and 1 ⅜ oz plain flour in a bowl to a smooth paste.
Step 6: Pour a ladle of hot milk into the egg paste, whisking, then pour it all back into the pan. Remove the cinnamon stick.
Step 7: Cook over a medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and starts to bubble, then keep whisking for 2 minutes more. A common mistake is stopping as soon as it thickens: the custard tastes floury and turns runny once cut.
8 minStep 8: Stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract and pour the hot custard into the pastry case. Smooth the top and dust generously with 2 tsp ground cinnamon.
Step 9: Leave to cool, then chill for at least 2 hours until set before slicing.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does milk tart (melktert) take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of baking powder?
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar per 1 tsp.
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