Friendies!!!! It’s Milk Tart time. Melk Tert! Oh yes! I always thought milk tart was one of those South African dishes that was difficult to make. I mean it involved making pastry and baking blind and boiling milk and all those scary things.
Eeeeeeeeeeek!!!
And therefore, it was only natural to stay clear of making it or even attempting it, for my entire adult life.
BUT. THEN. I looked at my most popular recipes on the website and yes, milk tart was one of them. And then I looked at the recipe (a hand me down family recipe) and screwed my nose up at it whilst thinking silently *yes you can do it. You can make pastry and bake blind and boil milk*, with the accompanying facial expression of the All Blacks doing the haka.
As you can tell I gave myself a real talking to. Sometimes one needs to do that to oneself.
AND. I also saw how amateur my original photo looked (of the milk tart my friend made using the recipe – she rocks the recipe – I just took an okay photo of it) and that was a good enough reason to throw myself at the task of making milk tart!
I also discovered that the recipe really needed a little more explaining, so what you see below is the updated version and updated pictures…
For example, you gotta cook that pastry base blind (which means once you’ve put the pastry in the dish, you bake blind by placing a piece of wax paper in the dish, putting beans or rice on top ie. To weight the pastry down) and cooking for 15 minutes on 180C and then another 5 minutes without the wax paper and beans/rice.
You should also chill the pastry (in the refrigerator) before cooking it, for about 15-30 minutes. Did you know that? But if we’re going to keep things simple, which is what this website is about, then you can go ahead and leave that part out. Nooooo problem!
Whilst I was making the actual filling, I must admit it was a little scary. It felt like I was attempting fudge or something. But it is way less scary than that. In fact it is so NOT scary. My 3 year old who didn’t want to go to sleep was in the kitchen with me and he required a running commentary as well as visuals every 2 minutes which meant picking him up to show him the mixing bowl. You cant do that when you’re making summin scary. It was even relaxing.
I’m telling you.
And you can do it too.
And then you will tell your friends how un-scary it is too.
And a trend will be borne.
So the other important point here is the thickening part. Don’t get all “big-eyes” on me. I just said it aint scary!
Once you’ve combined the egg and the milk mixture together, return to the stove and allow it to thicken on medium heat. It should take approximately 10-12 minutes. Keep stirring…don’t scrape the bottom of the pot though otherwise you may land up with bits of milk that have solidified.
Once it’s nice and thick….pour it into the pastry shell. Allow to cool slightly (ie. Until you can’t see the steam coming off) and then place in the fridge to chill and set. It doesn’t need to cook any further. When you’re ready to serve it, sprinkle cinnamon over the top.
Enjoy, all to yourself or with friends.
Note: I used a 26cm diameter pie dish and I still had pastry left over.
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Milk Tart
Prep Time: 20 minutes- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 1-2 tarts 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
An easy way to make the classic milk tart! Step by step, it’s not nearly as scary as it seems!
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 egg
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 125g butter
- pinch of salt
Filling:
- 4 ½ cups milk
- 2 ½ tbsp cornflour
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- pinch of salt
- 2 ½ tbsp flour
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- a big spoon of butter
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar well together and add the egg, before beating well.
- Add all other ingredients – making a stiff dough.
- Press into one or two round cake tins/pie dishes.
- Bake blind for 15 minutes at 180°C (use wax paper to cover the pastry and place dry beans/rice over the paper to weight the pastry down). Then remove the paper and beans/rice and bake for an additional 5 minutes until light brown.
- Bring milk to a gentle boil.
- Beat eggs well and add sugar, flour, cornflour and salt.
- Mix well.
- Pour boiling milk into the mixture and stir well.
- Return to stove and stir for 10-12 minutes on medium heat until the mixture thickens.
- Add butter and vanilla essence and mix through, then pour into cooked shell.
- Allow to cool in the fridge (you do not need to cook the tart any further)
- To decorate, sprinkle with cinnamon.
Notes
I used a 26cm diameter pie dish and I still had pastry left over.
The best milk tart ever!!
I know this recipe is sublime, tried and tested!
this recipe produced the best milk tart i have ever eaten. i am aware of sugar and i halfed the sugar recommended and the tart is still fantastic. better than my mother’s who has been baking milk tarts for more than 30 yrs. thank you
WOW, that was an awesome milk tart. Very easy to make and it tastes great. I am not some great baker but even I could easily make it to a great product!!!!
I am South African but live in Florida, USA. Nice to have something that tastes like home….. 🙂
WOW! This recipe made me feel like a PRO 🙂
My friends and family still cannot believe that I made an awesome milk tart….
I will attempt to make this for my South African boyfriend! If I buy already made pastry would it be shortcrust?
Thanks
Yes you need to buy shortcrust pastry! 🙂
2 words. . . .YUM YUM!
Love the recipe. Either I did something wrong, or did what im supposed to do, but turns out you can make 2 milk tarts with this recipe. Oh, and just a tip for the newbies (because this was my 1st attempt at making a milk tart…ever) make the base thin, because it raises and looks like a cake if u make it too thick
Mhmm I can’t stop to dig in its perfect good I luv it thanks
I’ve just made this milk tart. I’m so pleased with it, it looks lovely. Thank you so much for this recipe 🙂
Just amazing. Everyone says it’s the best they have ever tasted. I use tennis biscuit base instead of pastry. Very yummy 🙂
Loved the recipe, replace the vanilla essence and place 3 Rooibos teabags into the milk while it warms. It Makes for an amazing unique twist
I agree this is the best Milk Tart ever, but mine did not set properly. Did I perhaps not allow the mixture to thicken enough? I had it in the fridge from 3pm until 8pm and it was more like pudding then tart. Any suggestions??
OMG, I ain’t the best baker but WOW, I made this for the first time and I felt like I have been baking all my life, Thanks for this boost to my confidence, now I am no longer afraid to try anything new….you are the best!!!!!
i’m a Pom and I have just totally impressed my SA partner and his kids with my first attempt at this. It was awesome and so easy – thanks!!
this is the best milk tart recipe!! recommend to all, lasted us only 1 afternoon… 🙂
it’s true, makes 2
I have made some good milktarts before but will try this tonight! You can also buy puff pastry instead of short crust. Just make sure to prick the bottom of the tin when baking your pastry case, this will prevent it from rising too much.
Hi guys, is this a no bake milk tart. i.e. Do you only bake the tart crust, then pour in the filling and let filling set in the fridge?
I just made a milk tart via another recipe in a book, and it came out more souffle like, nothing much resembling a milk tart. Will try this recipe in future!
Hi,
Just seen this recipe and looks great and just been to buy all the ingredients…i have never baked before..have a quick question…probably a very silly question, but,
all the milktarts ive had (bought from the local SA shop) are cold…so once ive baked this, and ive left it to cool, can it just go into the fridge and be eaten whenever??
Yes, keep it in the fridge as it should be eaten cold! 🙂
this sounds easy and very nice, can i use a crumb biscuit base as i want to make individual cups?
I’ve never tried that but Im sure you could…sounds like it would work…
So this is a refrigerated milk tart?
And can I substitute the corn flour with custard powder or will it be too thick?
I wouldn’t substitute the cornflour with custard powder although having said that I’ve never tried it. I think you’ll lose the great taste of a milk tart though.
i,ve made it and its a winner not bad for a first timer
absolutely LOVE this recipe, its perfect, and an amazing reminder of home, when living abroad.
Do you cook it ?? What temp and how long ????
You do not cook this milk tart. You only cook the shell and then that’s it. The filling just needs to be chilled – so place the tart in the fridge.
Im a S.A. living in U.K. ive never been brave enough to try making milktart in the past but saw this recipe and Ive given it a go. Well all I can say is, its so easy, works like a dream and tastes fantastic!!Try it, you’ll love it.
Im a S.A. living with my family in U.K, ive never been brave enough to try milktart in the past but tried this recipe today, and its brillian, easy and tastes great!!go on try it you wont regret it.
this is a a great recipe i love melk tart and i am not the best cook when i did this it was hard at first but the end results was so good and yummy.
when i made it the first time the base went all funny it was to thick but if you only layer the tin a small bit it works.
yummmy yummmy 🙂 ^_^
hello – I left South Africa 36 years ago and haven’t had a slice of melktert since then! I’d like to try your recipe, but could you mention the pie dish size? many thanks.
I tried it 2times it was perfectly yummy ,my kids and husband loved it they them both in 1 night cause with this recipe u can make two tarts same time I so love it ,I even tried to bake cake loaf and banan loaf my husband is impressed with my baking skills !!!big ups!!!nexttime I am making chocolate cake,no baking lemon cake,carrot ,those r my favourate thank you so much!
What flour do you use for the crust?
@Marianne – you can use noraml cake flour for the crust
I made this recipe it was pretty easy to make the filling but the pastry is a little hard to get right! So I suggest buying a ready made one, I made this for my family and my south African boyfriend! Hopefully they like it 🙂
How much is a cup???
HI Tanya, one cup is 250ml
seems very tasty , i’ll definitely try
Hi why does my fiiling comes out so thick?help
I made this milktart and it did not set at all even tho it was in the fridge for 9 hours what am I doing wrong ???????????????????????????helppp
Hi This recipe sounds great! Plan to make it soon but was wondering about the amount of sugar? One cup sounds a lot! Thanks Kathy
i printed this recipe a long time ago but somehow i never tried it coz l thought it was too easy. This holiday though l decided to try it and oh my God it was heaven in my mouth. it was so very delightful to the pallete and i must say even my husband who is not keen on desserts tried this milk tart, cleaned his plate and asked for more. Thanks a lot. l loved this recipe. lts a must try for those who have never tried this.
My milk tart is still a but runny and dint set properly what did i do wrong i see im not the only one who had this prob
Hi Yusra – Did you let the mixture cook long enough, this is where all the thickening happens..
Hi Yusra, the same thing happened with my milk tart the first time i tried this recipe. I did not cook it properly the first time though. The second time it came out perfect as i cooked it for longer
i will most definitely try this one!! Love baking. It’ll be my first time thou… Thnxxx sounds awesome
Hi just want to know must the filling cool down before adding to the shell or straight out the stove. Please advise.
Your recipes are great, minimum effort for maximum taste, you do have, to my mind, one fault, you don’t state the sizes of the pans, dishes etc., that should be used. I find it hard to judge what size should be used and therefore end up trying different dishes and creating a mound of washing up in an effort to find the right size pan!
Hi Pat, thanks for the advice! I will do that! 🙂
I baked this with my kids and it turned out great! We shared it with friends and family and we have been asked to bake it again … soon! Thank you for a such an easy recipe!
I am such a fan of milk tart. Made this today!! Am so living it. Sending sum to friends
Absolutely Devine. While cooking in pot I used cake mixer to keep it smooth.definitely a keeper
How long do we have to leave it in the fridge?
just until it has cooled! 🙂
Is corn flour the same as cornstarch?
Yes they are the same thing Joanna! 🙂
Hao! This is a custard tart…I made this hoping it is a melktert but alas, it was a custard one!!
Thank for the recipe otherwise. It is easy to follow but consider changing the name of the recipe for the sake of all homesick South Africans.
What is a real melk tert then? I’m intrigued! Thanks!
lol. I agree. Just made it and realised it’s a custard tart and not a milk tart.
Best milk tart recipe! I did however half the sugar amount! 🙂
Excellent blog post. I absolutely love this website. Continue the good work!
To make less pastry- can we use half of all the ingredients by any chance? Will it work?
What flour do you use in the UK for the filling? I have self-raising or plain.
Thank you for this recipe! It is one of the best milk tarts I’ve ever had. I made this for my family and they loved it.
Hi, please send me a free booklet of receipts for all, thank you.
What an awesome receipe. My family loved it.
Why is my milktart not setting. If i cut a slice it issnt firm its a little bit wobbly and runny
Hi there. For some reason mine did not set right. Used 1/2 sugar. Lovely recipe. Will be making again. Tx for sharing
Excellent recipe. Very easy to make and very, very tasty. I’ve made this milk tart about 4/5 times now and each time it turns out perfectly. Being an English girl married to a SA man it certainly gets me in the good books with him and his family. Love it!
Can you leave the milk tart in the fridge for a week in a closed container?
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