However, I don’t believe they are as popular as their counter parts, Cake Slices, Cream Doughnuts, your Madeira Cakes, etc. This is well justified by the fact that Milk tart is a very traditional South African dessert. Milk Tart/Melktert – Easy, Rich and Creamy – Perfect entertaining pie with an easy press-on pastry crust. In fact, my very first introduction to the dessert was when I was in primary school, still young, carefree and open to trying out new foods but still playing it safe.
I must have been 10 or 11-years-old if I had to guess. We had some really friendly neighbours who had two kids. I think two houses down or behind us, and we became friends with the siblings that were around my sisters and I’s age. I remember the one sister’s name, Liyandi (sp). They were from South Africa and super friendly and on one of our play date, Liyandi brought us some Milk Tart.
I know I tried it and was indifferent while my sister Melissa was not hearing it. Milk Tart has a very unique taste and scent, but funny enough the ingredients are pretty simple. The top of the tart is either decorated or covered in cinnamon. This is probably what put her off, an overwhelming presence of an ingredient that we didn’t interact with much.
Without even being aware of it, hot cross buns were probably the only if not one of the few times we ate anything with cinnamon in it. She never recovered from that tasting session and she grew up with a distaste for Milk Tart. I made a naughty Tart about two years back by adding Cream liqueur and reducing the amount of cinnamon in it and she gave it a chance. She enjoyed it thoroughly. Personally I used to enjoy the Milk Tart from our local super cold grocer; it’s since been discontinued so I hardly have Milk Tart.
Last week I was craving dessert and couldn’t decide what exactly I felt like. Cupcakes, cake or cinnamon rolls. Remember I am not the greatest baker and my budget didn’t allow me to order out so I had to think about what I could make at home that was easy and inexpensive. This is when I remembered Milk Tart and I looked up my old recipe and realised I had everything but corn flour.
The only reason I was willing to go out for the corn flour was, one, it was the only ingredient missing and secondly I was sending my husband...lol. Whether you go for the smaller box or the container you get your monies worth in terms of volume as there’s always more than enough and a lot left over for future bakes that require it. Perhaps it is because I don’t use much of it, it always lasts, but it’s a very versatile ingredient to have, for cooking or baking. Making the pastry for this Tart from scratch is so satisfying, it is easier than you could ever imagine. FYI, you can use tennis biscuits for a cheat crust if you don’t have all the ingredients required or just to save time.
This dessert is delicious and easy to make, it can be enjoyed on its own or with a cup of tea. It is very comforting and I think you ought to bookmark this one for the holidays. Side note: We have less than two weeks till our winner announcement for the Danone Spring Holiday competition, so keep those submission posts rolling in on our Chellzkitchen Facebook page to increase your chances.
INGREDIENTS
Pastry crust
1½ cup cake flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
¼ salt 9 Tbls butter
1 egg yolk
Milk Filling
2¼ (496 ml) cups milk
2 tablespoon (28grams) butter
2 tablespoons (20 grams) flour
3-4 tablespoons (23- 30grams) corn flour
½ cup (100grams) sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
½ teaspoons cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS
Butter or spray a pie pan with a removable bottom – making sure it is has been adequately sprayed. Set aside Place flour, salt and sugar, mix ingredients. Throw in butter and pulse until rough dough forms. Then add egg yolk and mix. Remove dough, place on a work surface - knead just enough to incorporate all the dough. Working the dough as little as possible. Do not overwork the dough; otherwise it’ll be too tough. When it’s ready, the dough will be barely moistened and come together into a ball.
Lightly press the dough on the prepared pie pan – working from the middle and outwards until the bottom and sides are fully covered with pastry. It is important to be very gentle when pressing the dough onto the pie pan. Place pie pan in the freezer and freeze for at least 30 minutes or more. This helps prevent the dough from rising - if you are in a rush then bake with beans to prevent rising. I like to place a piece of parchment paper down to cover the bottom of the pie and pour the beans on top. They serve the purpose of weighing down the pastry as it cooks and thus preventing it from rising. I used rice once and it worked well. Discard the beans afterwards! Preheat oven to 205 degrees C, place rack in middle of oven Bake crust for about 15-20 minutes or until the crust is dry and golden browned. Set aside. Place saucepan over medium heat, add butter, nutmeg and milk -bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
In another bowl, mix together flour, corn flour, sugar, vanilla essence whisk in eggs until smooth. Gently whisk into the pan making sure there are no lumps Now return the pan back on the stove – keep stirring constantly until in starts to bubble. Cook for about five to six minutes. Remove from heat and pour mixture into the baked pastry shell. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Chill until ready to be served.
