Baked Milk Tart: A Traditional South African Dessert

Milk tart is is truly a beloved dessert in South Africa and beyond! You will love this lip-smackingly delicious and creamy baked milk tart which can be served at just about any occasion.

The sweet flaky pastry crust is filled with a custard gently flavoured with almond extract, vanilla and topped with a generous dusting of cinnamon. Milk tart is a bit reminiscent of custard pie but with a lighter texture and stronger milk flavour. 

This milk tart recipe call for the custard to be baked.

It is made with a sweet pastry crust often referred to as Pate sablée, the good thing about this pastry is that you do not have to worry about rolling it out – all you do is press the crust into the pie pan – freeze for 30 minutes and then bake without weight. Freezing prevents the pie from rising.

• You can make the crust ahead of time, bake and leave out until ready to be use.
• Use store bought pastry pie if you are pressed on time

All the ingredients for this milk tart are right in your pantry – no extra shopping needed and it is all made from scratch. 

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Baked Milk Tart

Rich and creamy milk tart is a classic South African dessert or tea time treat. If you are fond of custard-based pies, you will LOVE milk tart!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Global

Keyword Tart

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Irene Muller

Ingredients

Puff pastry

• 250 g butter, grated and cold
• 250 g flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 150 ml iced water
• 10 ml lemon juice
• egg white whisked For brushing the puff pastry before refrigerating

Crust

• 125 g butter
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups flour
• 2 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Filling

• 1 lt milk
• 6 eggs
• 4 tbsp butter
• ¾ cup sugar
• 8 tbsp Cornflour (Mezina)
• 8 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp almond essence
• ½ tsp salt

Instructions

Puff Pastry

• Sift flour into a large bowl with salt, then grate in the butter and rub in quickly – you should still be able to see butter chunks.
• Make a well in the center, and then add the liquid ingredients (except for the egg white and combine carefully roll out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 20cm x 50cm.
• Fold a third of the pastry to the center, and then fold the other side over the first third then give the dough a quarter turn and roll out again, repeat twice, and allow to chill.
• Roll the pastry out to 5mm thickness then line your bowl with the pastry, dock the bottom and then brush with egg white.
• Place in the fridge until the oven is ready. Blind bake in the oven for 7 to 10 minutes at 200° C / 392° F Remove from oven and set aside.

Crust

• Cream butter and sugar then add the oil and the egg.
• Add the vanilla essence, finish off by adding the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Work with your fingers until it forms a softball.
• Press in the prepared pie dish of your choice, place it in the fridge until the filling has cooled off and the oven is ready.
• Bake in the crust at 200° C / 400° F for 20 to 25 minutes, the filling will double in volume while baking, and don't worry, it will settle as it cools down.
• For an UNBAKED CRUST, bake in the crust for 20 to 25 minutes at 204°-230° C / 400°-450° F, the filling will double in volume while baking and don't worry, it will settle as it cools down.

Filling

• Bring the milk to a boil then add butter, add flour and cornflour in a bowl, add a little of the milk to form a  thin paste .
• Separate the egg yolk from the whites and mix the egg yolk and sugar, then add to milk.
• Whisk egg whites not too stiff, then fold into the milk mixture.
• Add in the almond essence and mix carefully, when cooled off a little, pour in the baked pastry or unbaked crust, smooth the top with the back of a spoon.

To serve

• When cooled, sprinkle with cinnamon (cinnamon sugar optional).

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