Milk tart should be creamy, softly set and fragrant with cinnamon—not stiff, floury or overly sweet. This practical version uses a biscuit crust and a cooked filling, making it reliable for first-time bakers.
Recipe at a glance
- Makes: one 24 cm tart, 10 slices
- Difficulty: Medium
- Total time: 45 minutes plus chilling
- Estimated cost: about R85 total, or R8.50 per slice. Prices vary.
Ingredients
- 200 g tennis biscuits, finely crushed
- 90 g butter, melted
- 750 ml full-cream milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 50 g butter
- 100 g sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 40 g cake flour
- 30 g cornflour
- 5 ml vanilla essence
- Ground cinnamon, for finishing
Method
- Mix the biscuit crumbs and melted butter. Press firmly into the base and sides of a 24 cm tart dish. Chill while preparing the filling.
- Heat 650 ml of the milk with the cinnamon stick and butter until steaming, but do not boil.
- Whisk the sugar and whole eggs until combined. Add the flour, cornflour and remaining 100 ml milk; whisk until perfectly smooth.
- Remove the cinnamon stick. Slowly whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture, then return everything to the saucepan.
- Cook over medium-low heat, whisking continuously, until thick bubbles rise to the surface. Cook for one more minute to remove the raw flour taste.
- Remove the fully cooked custard from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Both whole eggs have cooked with the filling; do not add raw egg whites.
- Pour into the chilled crust, smooth the top and dust generously with cinnamon. Cool, then refrigerate for at least four hours.
How to get a smooth filling
Keep the heat moderate and whisk into the corners of the saucepan. If small lumps appear, pass the hot custard through a sieve before stirring in the vanilla. The tart keeps for three days in the fridge; cover only after it has cooled to prevent condensation.