South African Milk Tart -- Traditional
photo by kiwidutch
- Ready In:
- 1hr 5mins
- Ingredients:
- 10
- Yields:
-
2 small pies
- Serves:
- 8-10
ingredients
- 453.59 g puff pastry, preferably made with butter (you might need more, so keep at hand)
- 946.36 ml milk
- 1 cinnamon sticks or 2.46 ml ground cinnamon
- 59.16 ml flour
- 29.58 ml cornflour, rounded
- 118.32 ml sugar
- 4.92 ml salt, small
- 4.92 ml vanilla
- 59.16 ml butter
- 4 eggs, separated
directions
- Roll out the pastry on a floured board until thinner.
- Beat an extra egg -- not one of the 4 in the ingredient list -- in a small bowl.
- Line 2 average-size or smaller pastry plates with the pastry, being careful not to strech it. Crimp edges, paint with the egg, and put in fridge to keep cold.
- Heat oven to 400 deg F/200 deg Celsius.
- Heat 3 of the cups of milk with the cinnamon. If using stick cinnamon, take it out when milk is hot (not boiling).
- Mix the flour, cornflour, salt and 4 tablespoons of the sugar with the extra cup of milk in another pot. Add the hot milk to this mixture, and keep whisking to prevent lumps forming.
- Bring to a slow boil while stirring or whisking, add vanilla, keep stirring.
- Take from heat and add the butter.
- Whisk the egg whites until stiff, add the rest of the sugar (4 tblsp) and whisk until really firm and glossy.
- Now whisk the egg yolks well, and add to the cooled milk mixture: you don't want boiled eggs!
- Fold in egg whites; use a whisk to incorporate them.
- Pour into the 2 lined pastry plates.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven: 10 mins at heat given above, then lower heat to 350 deg F/180 deg Celsius.
- Bake until puffed up and golden brown on top -- about 20+ minutes extra.
- When they come out of the oven you can sprinkle the tops with a cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- The milk tarts will fall again, which is normal. Best served still slightly warm, but can be made ahead, cooled and refrigerated. Always serve at room temperature or warm in oven again.
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Reviews
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Chef Zee, I am so sorry to have to give this a low rating, the idea sounded great and *surely* I must have done something wrong. I am on an elimination diet for allergies so no flour is allowed and had colleagues at work rate this for me: without exception they said that the filling tasted overwhelmingly floury ! - ??? And definitely not a creamy, custard-dy inside that they were expecting. I’m really sorry that this didn’t work for me, it baked and puffed up well, rose up like a soufflee and fell before my eyes as I took it out the oven, and it looked great. I have included a photo of a slice so that you can see the heaviness that I encountered: that’s obviously NOT what it’s SUPPOSED to look like. Maybe when I’m allowed flour again I might attempt this again. Thanks for a recipe that I hope works better for others as it sounds wonderful.
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This may depend very much where you are from in South Africa and is obviously subject to personal taste. I have come across milk tart with puff pastry but never thought it was traditional or original. I'm not saying it's not as good but the filling cannot be like in this recipe! This ends up like a sponge and it's not Milk Tart. Not around the West rand of Joburg or around Mosselbaai or Eastern Transvaal. These are the area's I've had Melktert and that's my opinion.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Zurie
South Africa
I'm a widow, retired, and I love cooking. I live on the coast in South Africa and I love seafood. You're welcome to my recipes (all kinds, definitely not just seafood!) Just remember that no recipe is ever cast in stone -- adjust to your taste!
The photo was taken at a rustic seaside restaurant on our West Coast, approx 1 year ago (2016).