A South African classic gets the baked treatment in this irresistibly creamy milk tart. A crisp shortcrust pastry shell is filled with silky vanilla-and-almond custard, lightened with a fluffy meringue and finished with a generous dusting of cinnamon. It’s nostalgic, comforting and the perfect dessert for a Sunday lunch or any occasion that calls for a proper slice of baked milk tart.
Baked Milk Tart
Ingredients
- The crust
- 2x 250 grams shortcrust pastry
- Rice to blind bake
- The filling
- 675 ml milk
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp almond essence
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- ⅓ cup cake flour
- 3 tbsp cornflour
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1 ml cream of tartar
- ¼ cup castor sugar
- To serve
- Ground cinnamon
Instructions
The crust
PREHEAT the oven to 180°C.
ROLL out the pastry on a lightly floured surface, then use a loose-bottomed non-stick cake tin.
LINE the pastry with baking paper and top with a handful of dry beans or rice. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven.
REMOVE the paper and beans, then return the tart to the oven and bake for a further 5 to 10 minutes.
The filling
PREHEAT the oven to 210 °C.
HEAT the milk, butter, vanilla and almond essence together in a pot over a medium heat until just before boiling. Remove from the heat and set aside.
MIX the flour, cornflour, salt, sugar and egg yolks together in a bowl
GRADUALLY pour in the hot milk, into the flour mixture stirring continuously between and then pour the whole lot back into the pot. Return to the stove on low heat and stir continuously until it thickens and starts to boil. Remove from the heat. (Feel free to pass it through a sieve if you notice any lumps, but you can skip it as it will still result in a delicious and creamy smooth baked milk tart.
WHISK the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and the castor sugar. Continue whisking until it reaches meringue stage. Gently fold the meringue into the milk custard.
SPOON the custard filling into the cold tart shells.
BAKE for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 180 °C and bake for a further 10 minutes.
DUST with ground cinnamon and serve!
