Melktert (South African Milk Tart)

Method

1. Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the cold water, stir with a fork, then press it together into a dough without kneading. Flatten into a disc, wrap and chill for 20 min.

   Add in this stepPlain (all-purpose) flour 110 gCold unsalted butter, diced 55 gSugar (for the pastry) 20 gSalt ½ pinchCold water 1½ tbsp

2. Preheat the oven to 190 °C. Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to 3 mm thick, line a tart tin (16 cm) and trim the edges. Prick the base with a fork, line with baking paper and fill with baking beans (or dried beans or rice).

   oven

3. Bake in the oven for 14 min, then lift out the paper and beans and bake for 8 min more, until the base is golden too. Let it cool in the tin.

   oven

4. Put the milk, cinnamon stick and the filling butter in a pan (16 cm) and heat on medium heat for 5 min, until steaming with small bubbles round the edge. Do not let it boil.

   Add in this stepMilk 250 mlCinnamon stick 1Butter (for the filling) 8 g

   medium heat

5. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, flour, cornflour and salt into a smooth paste. Pour in the hot milk a ladle at a time, whisking constantly, so the eggs warm up gradually instead of scrambling.

   Add in this stepEggs 1Sugar (for the filling) 40 gPlain flour (for the filling) 8 gCornflour 10 gSalt ½ pinch

6. Pour everything back into the pan and whisk on medium-low heat for 5 min without stopping, reaching into the corners. When it is thick and big bubbles plop slowly to the surface, keep whisking for 1 more minute to cook out the starch. Take it off the heat, remove the cinnamon stick and stir in the vanilla.

   Add in this stepVanilla extract ½ tsp

   medium-low heat

7. Pour the hot filling into the cooled pastry case, level the top and dust evenly with ground cinnamon. Cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 2 h before slicing.

   Add in this stepGround cinnamon ½ tsp