Milk Tart

A traditional South African dessert with a sugary crust and sweet, milky custard filling, sprinkled with cinnamon and chilled. This authentic melktert recipe creates two lovely pies with a cookie-like crust and smooth custard.

Servings: 16
Category: Dessert
Source: Allrecipes

Recipe

Servings

Prep:30 minutes

Cook:20 minutes

Total:50 minutes

Ingredients

• 113 g butter, softened
• 200 g white sugar
• 1 egg
• 250 g all-purpose flour
• 10 ml baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 980 ml milk
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• 15 ml butter
• 37 ml all-purpose flour
• 37 ml cornstarch
• 100 g white sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/2 ml ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter or margarine and 1 cup sugar. Add 1 egg and beat until mixture is smooth. In a separate bowl, mix together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture just until ingredients are thoroughly combined. Press mixture into bottom and sides of two 9-inch pie pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.
4. In a large saucepan, combine milk, vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon butter or margarine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then remove from burner.
5. In a separate bowl, mix together 2 1/2 tablespoons flour, cornstarch, and 1/2 cup sugar. Add beaten eggs to sugar mixture and whisk until smooth. Slowly whisk mixture into milk. Return pan to heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 5 minutes. Pour half of mixture into each pastry shell. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Chill before serving.

Notes

This South African milk tart (melktert) features a sweet, cookie-like crust that may puff during baking - simply press it back into shape while still warm. For best results, use full-fat milk for the richest custard. The custard should be poured while still warm to ensure smooth texture. Chill thoroughly before serving for proper set. Some bakers recommend greasing the pie pans well to prevent sticking, and piercing the crust with a fork before baking can help prevent excessive puffing.

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Generated from recipe data on September 09, 2025