South African Melktert Recipe
Although many people think that when South Africa is mentioned the south of the African continent is meant, and this is partially the case, in fact South Africa, or more accurately, the Republic of South Africa, is a country in the south of Africa. The country has three separate capitals, namely the legislative, executive and judicial capitals. The most well-known of these is Cape Town, which is the legislative capital. Since South Africa has been a colony of different countries throughout history, it has a great diversity in population, culture and therefore cuisine.
The one that has achieved the highest popularity among this variety is melktert, or milk tart. Melktert is a kind of tart that consists of a kind of cream/custard poured into a crunchy custard and served with cinnamon on top.
I did not work on the recipe for a long time because it is a dessert that is very easy to make. That's why I didn't try to make any changes. But if I had the chance, I would flavor the pudding with lemon and orange peels, as in pastel de nata and crema catalan recipes. Since orange and lemon are very harmonious flavors with cinnamon, I am sure that a wonderful aroma will emerge.
Since I only have a 22 cm mold, I used it. But I had some left over custard and the crust was a bit thick for me. Therefore, a mold of 24 cm would be more appropriate. This is how I specified it in the recipe. But when you do it this way, your dough will look thinner. Don't panic if you think did something wrong. You didn't.
After preparing the melktert, wait for it to come to room temperature and then store it in the refrigerator as it should be for all milk desserts. If you want to store it for a long time, you can freeze it. However, there may be a softening in the crust and a change in consistency in the pudding. That's why I recommend using this option when you really have to.
Enjoy the recipe...
South African Melktert Recipe with Video
Ingredients
For the crust;
- 100 g of cold butter,
- 1 small egg
- 1/3 cup of sugar,
- 2 cups of flour.
For the custard;
- 500 ml of milk,
- 2 tablespoons of flour,
- 3 tablespoons of corn starch,
- 2 eggs,
- 1/2 cup of sugar,
- 1 tablespoon of butter,
- Cinnamon for topping.
Preparation
- For the crust, chop the butter into cubes and take it in a mixing bowl,
- Add the egg and sugar and mix until the egg is dispersed,
- Add the flour and knead until you get a non-sticky dough,
- Place the dough in a 24 cm tart mold,
- Pierce the top and the edges with a fork and lift them into the freezer and rest for 10 minutes,
- Take the dough out of the freezer and bake it in a preheated oven at 190 C degrees until golden brown,
- For the custard, take the eggs, sugar and some of the milk into a saucepan and whisk,
- Add flour and corn starch and whisk,
- Add the rest of the milk and whisk,
- Take it to the stove and cook it on low-medium heat, stirring constantly,
- When it starts to thicken, add the butter and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens, then remove from heat,
- Pour the custard into the crust immediately,
- Sprinkle cinnamon on top,
- You can slice and serve it after it cools down.
Bon appetit...