Traditional South African Milk Tart Melktert Recipes

SOUTH AFRICAN MILK TART

Steps:

• Cream the butter and add the sugar. Beat in the egg and almond extract. Stir in the flour and salt. Knead until a soft dough has formed. Chill for 10 minutes.
• Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and layer it into a greased pie dish. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper and fill the void with pie weights. Bake blind at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove parchment and pie weights. Allow crust to cool completely on a wire rack.
• In a heat proof bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, cornstarch, flour and vanilla. Set aside.
• In a medium size saucepan, heat the milk and butter at medium setting. Do not bring to a rolling boil.
• Add about a fourth of the milk to the egg mixture, whisking to incorporate it evenly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with the remainder of the milk. Return to heat and stir constantly until it thickens. Do not boil!
• Pour the filling into the pie crust and let cool completely. Refrigerate until serving. Sprinkle with cinnamon before serving.

MELKTERT (MILK TART)

Steps:

• Cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg.
• Add dry ingredients and mix well to form a smooth dough.
• Press into greased pie plate.
• Bake at 350F/180C for approximately 20 minutes or until golden.
• Boil milk, sugar and butter.
• Beat eggs with dry ingredients.
• Pour hot mixture over cold and mix well. Add vanilla essence.
• Allow to thicken on the stove.
• Pour filling into pastry-lined pie dish. Allow to cool and then sprinkle with cinnamon.

TRADITIONAL SOUTH AFRICAN MILK TART (MELKTERT)

Steps:

• For the pastry, pulse the butter, flour and sugar in a food processor until it has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Alternately, rub in the cold butter with two knives or a pastry cutter. Try not to use your hands as it will warm up the butter.
• Add the egg and water and mix until just combined.
• Bring the pastry into a ball and flatten into a disk on a piece of cling wrap. This makes it easier to roll into a round shape later.
• Chill and rest the pastry for about 30 minutes before use.
• Roll out the pastry and line a 25 cm tart pan ensuring that the pastry overlaps the sides a bit as it may shrink during baking if not rested enough. I chilled it again for another 10 minutes before baking.
• Switch on the oven and heat to 200 degrees celcius / 400 F / Gas mark 6.
• Prick the base and line with parchment paper and baking beans or beans, and bake blind for about 10 minutes.
• Remove the baking beans and bake for another five minutes. Be careful not to get a burn as you may drop the beans and damage the tart case.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 170 degrees celcius / 350 F / Gas mark 4.
• Cook the filling while the pastry base is baking in the oven.
• In a medium size bowl mix the butter and flour ensuring there are no lumps. Add in the condensed milk, vanilla and the egg yolks and mix until smooth.
• Heat the milk until it reaches boiling point stirring occasionally with a flat edged wooden spoon to prevent it catching and burning on the bottom of the pot.
• Add a little of the boiled milk to the egg mixture ensuring that you whisk out all the lumps. Slowly add the rest of the milk while whisking or stirring and then return to the pot and place back on the heat.
• Stir the milk mixture on the heat until it thickens and it starts to bubble.
• Remove the pot from the stove and let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes.
• Whisk the egg whites and salt until they are glossy but not too stiff. It should be soft peaks at this stage, not the 'tip it over your head and it doesn't drop' stiffness.
• Fold the egg whites into the cooled custard mixture.
• Pour into the pastry case and bake for 15-20 minutes until it is set. Do not over bake as it will rise and sink like an overdone souffle.
• Sprinkle with cinnamon powder and serve.

SOUTH AFRICAN MELKTERT (MILK TART)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Coat a 9 inch deep dish pie plate with vegetable oil cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg yolks and beat until light and fluffy. Sift in the cake flour, baking powder and salt, and stir until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and milk. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks using an electric mixer. Fold into the batter. Pour into the prepared pie plate, and sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the top.
• Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Continue to bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the center is set when you gently jiggle the pie. Serve hot or cold.

SOUTH AFRICAN MELKTERT (MILKTART)

Steps:

• Heat 3 cups of milk to boiling point.
• Mix remaining milk, flour, sugar, extracts, salt and egg yolks together and add to hot milk.
• Cook until very thick and remove from stove.
• Whisk egg whites to stiff peak stage and add to milk mixture after it has been off the stove for 5 minutes.
• Stir in margarine and pour mixture into ready-made pie shells.
• Sprinkle with cinnamon.
• Refrigerate to cool and set.

SOUTH AFRICAN MILK TART (MELKTERT)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• For the crust, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
• Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or knife until the flour resembles a coarse cornmeal.
• Stir in the sour cream to form a soft dough.
• Dust the dough with flour and form it into a ball.
• On a generously floured surface, roll out the dough to fix at 11x13-inch baking sheet or a 14-inch pizza pan. It will be thicker than a usual pie crust.
• Carefully lift the dough and lay it out flat on the unoiled pan. Crimp the edges by pinching them to form a rim. Pierce the dough with a fork in several places.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes until crisp and golden.
• Meanwhile, make the custard by heating the milk to boiling.
• Combine the sugar, flour, eggs, and salt in a blender.
• When the milk begins o foam, pur it slowly into the whirling blender.
• Pour the custard back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 3-5 minutes, until thickened.
• Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Set aside.
• When the crust has baked, spread the custard filling evenly over it.
• Generously sprinkle the top with cinnamon and brown sugar. Return the tart to the oven for about 15 minutes, until the brown sugar melts and the top of the custard is firm.
• Serve the milk tart warm or cold.