Milktart or Melktert

Following on from the theme of *Proudly South African* and now in the throes of booking a ticket for HIM to join me in Cape Town for Christmas (to join the entire fam-damn-ily) – I had a South African themed dinner party over the weekend for a group of 8 of us.

Chicken and Apricot curry, Bobotie, Cauliflower cheese sauce, carrot and rice. Followed by a dessert that can also be served as a tea time treat… MILKTART (or sometimes known as Melktert in Afrikaans).

This home-made dessert is defined by a sweet crust pastry filled with a creamy mixture of milk, flour, sugar and eggs and finally topped with a sprinkling of cinnamon after baking – and while the ratio of milk is much higher than a traditional European egg custard tart (like the Portuguese Pastel de nata), this results in a lighter texture and milkier flavour.

MILKTART

CRUST

1 Tablespoon butter

half a cup of self-raising flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

pinch of salt

1 large egg

FILLING

500ml milk

1/4 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons flour

1 Tablespoon cornflour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons butter

3 eggs

cinnamon sugar

1. to make crust, rub the butter into the self-raising sugar and add sugar and salt
2. Add the beaten egg and mix to form a stiff dough
3. using a knife – cover the bottom (and sides) of a pie dish with a thin layer of the mixture
4. keep in a cool place
5. to make filling – boil the milk
6. Combine the sugar, cake flour, cornflour and salt
7. Gradually add the hot milk, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon
8. Return to pot and stir constantly for about 5minutes until mixture is thick and cooked through
9. Remove from heat, and add butter
10. cool slightly
11. Add the 3 beaten eggs.
12. Pour into crust and Bake for 20minutes at 220 and then reduce heat to 200C and bake for a further 10minutes
13. cool slightly and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar