Traditional South African Melktert (Sweet Milk Tart)
An indulgent artisan dessert, beautifully crafted with premium ingredients and presented with exquisite garnishes for a memorable finale.
Ingredients
- • 1 pre-baked sweet shortcrust pastry tart shell (23cm)
- • 1 litre full-cream milk
- • 1 cinnamon stick
- • 1 strip lemon peel
- • 50g unsalted butter
- • 1/2 cup caster sugar
- • 3 large eggs (separated)
- • 3 tbsp plain flour
- • 3 tbsp cornflour (maizena)
- • 1 tsp vanilla extract
- • 1/4 tsp salt
- • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon (for dusting)
Preparation Steps
Bring milk to a simmer in a saucepan with the cinnamon stick and lemon peel strip; remove from heat, cover, and infuse for 15 minutes, then discard the stick and peel.
In a bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, flour, cornflour, vanilla extract, and salt into a smooth thick paste.
Gradually whisk the hot infused milk into the egg paste; return mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly for 5 minutes until very thick and bubbling; whisk in butter until melted and glossy.
In a separate clean bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks; gently fold the whipped whites into the hot custard in two additions until light and airy.
Pour the hot milk custard into the pre-baked pastry shell, smoothing the top level with a palette knife.
Dust the surface generously with ground cinnamon; cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours until set.
Slice into wedges and serve chilled or at room temperature with Rooibos tea.