South African Instant Milk Tart Recipe

This traditional light and creamy South African household favourite is made from pastry or biscuit crust with a creamy milk, sugar, egg and flour filling.

Said to have arrived with the Dutch Settlers in the 1600s, it makes a regular appearance (almost always in fact) at school fêtes, church bazaars, supermarkets, and foodie blogs. And for good reason! It’s easy to prepare, easy on the palate, and works well as a scrumptious teatime treat or dessert. Even the most jaded non-foodie types will impress friends and family with these easy, no bake, instant recipe.

Recipe by: GOLD Restaurant
Serves: 8
Difficulty: Super easy
Preparation: 30 minutes

Ingredients

T = tablespoon
t = teaspoon

Crust:

• 1 packet *tennis biscuits, crushed or blended to fine crumbs
• 125g butter, melted

*South African biscuit made with coconut, golden syrup and butter

Filling:

• 500 ml (2 cups) full cream milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 100 ml white (or castor) sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 45 ml (3 T) corn flour (for thickening)
• 45 ml (3 T) cake flour
• 3 ml (½ t) vanilla essence
• 30 ml (2 T) butter Cinnamon sugar (for dusting)

Method

Crust:

1. Combine the crushed tennis biscuits and melted butter and press the fine biscuit crumble into a pie dish.

Filling:

1. In a deep saucepan, add the milk and stick of cinnamon and until it’s almost boiling.
2. While the pot is heating up, in a separate bowl lightly beat your eggs with the sugar, then add the corn flour and cake flour.
3. Pour your hot milk and cinnamon liquid into the bowl, and stir quickly and vigorously until smooth.
4. Transfer the mixture back into the saucepan and cook on a medium heat until the mixture becomes thick.
5. Take your saucepan off the heat and add the vanilla essence and butter.
6. Stir well until the butter melts thoroughly into the mixture.
7. Pour into your crust.
8. Dust the top lightly with cinnamon sugar.

Tips

1. Tennis biscuits are widely available in supermarkets throughout South Africa.
2. If trying this recipe in another country, you can substitute short crust biscuits for tennis biscuits.
3. If well covered, your milk tart will keep in the refrigerator for days.