Celebrate National Milk Tart Day with these recipes that feature a SA favourite

If there’s one dessert that truly tastes like home, it’s milk tart. So it’s only fitting that on 27 February, we celebrate National Milk Tart Day.

Often dubbed our unofficial national dessert, milk tart has earned its place at just about every family gathering, church fête and Sunday lunch table. You’ll spot it proudly displayed at your local home industry store, carefully balanced in Tupperware at a braai, or bookmarked in well-loved community recipe books – always finished with that generous dusting of cinnamon.

Creamy, delicate and comfortingly familiar, milk tart (or melktert, as many of us know it) is proof that simple ingredients can create something truly special. A silky custard filling, gently set in a crisp pastry shell, is all it takes to spark instant nostalgia.

To mark National Milk Tart Day on 27 February, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite takes on this proudly South African classic – from traditional baked versions to modern twists that feature the flavour.

Whether you’re a purist or love a little reinvention, there’s a slice here with your name on it. Kettle on? Let’s celebrate properly.

Celebrate National Milk Tart Day with these recipes that feature a SA favourite:

Baked milk tart

Lemon and bay leaf melktert

Traditional milk tart with almond crust

Koeksister, quince and melktert crumble

Milk tart éclair trifle with pinotage jelly and naartjie syrup

Milk tart Pavlovas with cinnamon shortbread crumble

Ginger milk tart with salted caramel macadamia nut brittle

Milk-tart ice cream with Marie biscuit crumble

Milk tart fudge

Rooibos milk tart soufflé

Van der Hum milk tarts

ALSO SEE: CELEBRATE NATIONAL MILL TART DAY WITH THESE DELICIOUS TWISTS

Celebrate National Milk Tart Day with these delicious twists on a SA favourite