Three milk tarts set on a black background with cinnamon sticks and powder on the side

Milk tart or melktert is a classic South African dessert. A favourite of ours since our undergrad years in Cape Town, we could think of no better dessert for the upcoming Heritage Day. Crisp flaky crust and silky cinnamon-y custard filling, what’s not to love?

Close up of milk tart filled with custard with cinnamon bark to the side and cinnamon powder in the background

A traditional melktert has a flaky puff pastry base into which a custard filling is baked. However, we make a bit of a cheat’s milk tart comprising of a sweet crust pastry shell and a light custard filling which is cooked separately. Our version is far from authentic, but nonetheless delicious.

For our take on the milk tart, we infuse the custard filling with Ceylon-style cinnamon. We introduced Ceylon cinnamon to our cooking following Vinasha’s trip to the Malaysian island of Penang. At the Tropical Spice Gardens of Penang (painted on the postcard below), a guide carefully explained the properties of Ceylon cinnamon. This thin-barked cinnamon has a sweet, delicate and floral flavour, perfect for baking.

Ceylon Cinnamon and powder styled on timber log

To add a creative twist to the tarts, we cut out stencils of the silhouette of Table Mountain and an outline of Mauritius. After scooping spoonfuls of the custard into the baked tart shells, we placed the stencils over the tarts before dusting with ground cinnamon.
We love to eat milk tart alongside a hot cup of tea or a dessert!

Table Mountain Stencil over tart with a dusting of cinnamon powder

action shot of a dusting of the milk tart with cinnamon powder using a copper sifter

QUESTIONS YOU MANY HAVE ABOUT MILK TART

What if I can’t find Ceylon cinnamon?
Look out for ‘thin quill’ cinnamon at the store. Otherwise, not to worry, regular cinnamon will work great!

Can I make the milk tart ahead?
The tart shells can be made a couple of days ahead and they keep well. Make the custard on the day of serving and chill assembled tarts before serving.

Milk Tart

Milk tart with a sweet crust pastry base and a sweet and fragrant cinnamon infused custard.

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Prep Time 40

Cook Time 35

Course Dessert, Teatime

Servings 3 small tarts/ 1 large tart

Ingredients

For the pastry

225 g flour
35 g castor sugar
135 g cold unsalted butter (cubed)
1 large egg yolk
1 pinch salt
½-1 tbsp ice cold water

For the cinnamon custard

675 ml milk (3 cups)
2 eggs + 2 yolks
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp flour
8 tbsp sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 Ceylon cinnamon stick (or regular)
2 tbsp butter

For dusting

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

For the pastry

Place the flour, egg yolk, salt, sugar and butter in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Alternatively, rub in the butter by hand or using a pastry cutter.
Add the water, a few drops at a time and pulse a couple of times until the mixture starts coming together. Tip the mixture onto a clean surface and bring into a dough ball.
Slightly press the ball into a disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to overnight. Take the dough out of the fridge 10 mins prior to rolling.
Preheat the oven to 180°C .
Cut the dough into 3 pieces, if making 3 small tarts and roll each piece into a ball. Skip this step and proceed to rolling if making a large tart. Roll balls between 2 pieces of parchment into a 4 mm thick circle and gently press into tart shell case. Trim off any excess.
Line the tarts with a a piece of crumpled baking/parchment paper. Fill with baking beans or small beans or rice.
Bake the small tarts with the baking beans for 12 minutes (18 minutes for large tart), remove the baking paper filled with the beans and bake for another 8 minutes, or until lightly golden brown (10 minutes for large tart).
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing the tarts from the case and let cool completely before adding the filling.

For the custard filling

Heat the milk with the cinnamon stick in a medium sized saucepan until it comes to a simmer. In a large bowl whisk the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, flour and cornstarch.
Pour over the hot milk gradually, whisking as you pour (this step is called tempering and helps to bring up the temperature of the eggs without scrambling them).
Pour the custard mixture with the cinnamon stick back into the pan and cook over medium heat until thickened, whisking constantly. You will know the cream is cooked when large bubbles start to rise to the surface. Take off the heat, stir in the butter and fish out the cinnamon stick.
Immediately pour the custard into the tart shells and allow to cool.
Dust with cinnamon and enjoy!