Perfect recipes to celebrate Milk Tart Day

My first tasting of milk tart was very unpleasant. 

It was on a Sunday after a fundraising Friday bake sale in primary school. I was intrigued by the dessert, my mother, who was a pie queen, would often make baked goods for us and I had been munching on “queen cakes” since I could point at them sitting on our kitchen table. She just never got around to making milk tart, but I digress.  

On that fateful day, I stood at a table and looked at this cinnamon bedecked, frothy and creamy phenom with a strong dairy aroma and handed over R2,50 for a slice.  

So precious was it to me that I locked it away in a lunch box to have it later as a treat and promptly forgot about it. It was only on the Sunday afternoon after being asked where my second lunch box was, did I remember the treasure I had stashed. The hot KZN sun was very unkind, the state of the milk tart was dismal, I bravely tried to take a bite so that I wouldn’t have wasted my money and I promptly gagged. I took a break from milk tart for the longest time, but towards the end of high school we had made up, though not my favourite dessert, I enjoy it now.

But if you’re a fan and are looking for a reason to try out some recipes or an excuse to have your favourite dessert, the February 27 is Milk Tart Day. So here are some recipes to keep so you can go shopping in advance to celebrate the South African Milk tart. In honour of the day the chefs from Capsicum Culinary Studio shared their favourite milk tart recipes.

Peppermint Crisp Milk Tart ~ Capsicum Culinary Studio Durban campus

Ingredients for Base  

150g plain flour

75g unsalted butter

50g icing sugar

1 egg yolk, beaten

50g Peppermint Crisp, chilled  

Method  

Place the flour, unsalted butter, icing sugar and peppermint crisp into a food processor and blend in short burst until it resembles breadcrumbs. Tip into a bowl then add the beaten egg yolk and mix to form a dough. If the dough looks too dry, add a tablespoon of water. Shape the dough into a ball, flatten it out into a disc, wrap it in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out evenly on a floured surface. Grease a pan and dust lightly with flour. Gently place the rolled-out dough into a round flan pan and neatly shape into the corners. Use a fork to poke holes in the base. Cover and place in the fridge for a further 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200ºC. Remove the tart shell from the fridge, place greaseproof paper on the base and fill with a layer of baking beans (or you can use uncooked rice). Bake for 10-minutes, remove greaseproof paper and baking beans and bake for a further 5-minutes or until golden brown. Turn off oven and leave the base in the oven for 10-15minutes, then remove and place on a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile make the filling.  

Ingredients for filling  

500ml fresh milk

28g butter

20g flour

25g corn-starch

100g caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence  

Method  

Place a saucepan on medium heat and add the milk and butter and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. In another bowl, mix the flour, corn-starch, sugar and vanilla essence and whisk in eggs until smooth. Gently whisk the mixture into the saucepan making sure there are no lumps. Return the saucepan to the stove and keep stirring constantly until in starts to bubble. Cook for about 5-6 minutes. Pass through a strainer to get a smooth texture.  

Ingredients for topping  

50g Peppermint Crisp, chilled 1 tsp ground cinnamon (or more if preferred)  

To assemble: Pour the still warm custard into the baked pastry shell ensuring that it spreads evenly. Allow to set and cool completely. In a bowl finely grate the Peppermint Crisp and mix with the ground cinnamon and then sprinkle over the top of the tart. You can use a stencil to make it look even more fabulous!

Milk Tart Stuffed Choux Buns ~ Capsicum Culinary Studio Cape Town campus

Ingredients

400ml full cream milk

1 stick cinnamon

3 tbs butter

5ml vanilla essence

50ml corn flour

2 extra-large egg yolks (reserve the whites)

80ml sugar

1 tbs cinnamon

2 tbs brown sugar

Method  

Pour 300ml of the milk into a saucepan and drop in the cinnamon stick and butter and heat until bubbles start forming. Remove from heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes before removing the cinnamon stick. This allows the mixture to retain the cinnamon flavour. Stir in the vanilla essence. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining milk. Add the cornflour and beat, making sure there are no lumps. Add a little of the warm milk to the corn flour mixture then add to the heated milk in the saucepan. Cook on medium heat until thick, whisking continuously so that no lumps form. Remove from the heat and add the sugar. Place clingwrap over the surface of the milk tart mixture (making sure it is in contact with the surface so that a skin does not form) and leave to cool. Beat the egg whites with ¼ cup sugar — you want soft white peaks — and set aside.

Ingredients for the Choux Buns

¼ cup water

¼ cup milk

½ cup self-raising flour

4 tbs butter

2 eggs  

Method

Pre-heat oven to 220ºC. Heat the water, milk and butter until it boils. Add the flour and mix for about 4 minutes on medium heat. Use an electric hand mixer and mix on medium speed for 1 minute, adding one egg at a time, continuing to mix until fully combined. Add mixture to a piping bag and pipe small circles onto a pre-greased tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 10 minutes then lower oven to 155ºC and bake for a further 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove, place on wire rack and allow to cool.

To assemble

Spoon the milk tart mixture into a piping bag and fill the choux buns. Top with the meringue and give it a quick toast with a blowtorch. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and serve!