South Africa | Dessert

Milk Tart

Name: Milk Tart
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 8 slices
Cuisine: South Africa, Southern Africa
Ingredients: 1 whole 9-inch sweet pastry shell, blind baked; 4 cups whole milk; 1 stick cinnamon, for infusing milk; ¾ cup sugar; 3 whole eggs; ¼ cup cornstarch; 2 tbsp flour; 2 tbsp butter; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tsp ground cinnamon, for dusting; ¼ tsp salt

South African milk tart with a sweet pastry shell, creamy milk custard, and cinnamon on top.

Country

South Africa

Region

Southern Africa

Time

70 min

Serves

Level

medium

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01 / Get ready

Everything you need

Tap each ingredient as you gather it. Illustrations are visual guides; follow the ingredient names and quantities.

Servings 8

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

Jump to method My cookbook

Ingredients

For 8 slices

Dessert

A few kitchen essentials

Suggested from the recipe method. Use equivalent equipment you have.

Lidded pot

Wooden spoon

02 / Let’s cook

One step at a time

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to South Africa

4 steps 30 min prep 40 min cook (check method) 70 min total medium

Infuse the milk

Heat milk with the cinnamon stick until steaming. Turn off heat and let it infuse briefly, then remove the stick.

infuse 10:00

Mix the custard

Whisk sugar, eggs, cornstarch, flour, and salt until smooth. Slowly whisk in hot milk.

temper eggs 05:00

Cook until thick

Return custard to the pot and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until thick and glossy. Stir in butter and vanilla.

Kitchen noteWhisk the corners of the pot so no starch clumps hide there.

cook custard 10:00

Fill and chill

Pour custard into the pastry shell, dust with cinnamon, and chill until set before slicing.

chill 180:00

Some versions bake the custard in the shell, while others cook the custard first and set it in a blind-baked crust.

Cooking notes, photos & serving ideas

Recipe context

More about this dish

Serving ideas, regional context, and cooking cues for when you want more detail.

When to cook it

Best for tea time, Sunday dessert, birthdays, and make-ahead entertaining.. Plan on a medium cook. Allow about 70 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Rooibos tea, coffee, or fresh fruit.

Regional lane

Braai sides and sweet table. Relishes, custards, puddings, and tea-table desserts.

Chef watch-outs

Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
Adding all seasoning early and forgetting to adjust at the end.
Cooking on heat that is too high once the dish should be steaming or simmering.

How you know it is ready

The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
The final texture should match the dish style before you plate it.

Pantry lane

curry powder, apricot jam, chakalaka, mince, custard

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Take a closer look at the dish and its serving ideas.

Milk Tart recipe from South Africa — Milk Tart finished dish

Chef board

Build the table around Milk Tart

Rooibos tea, coffee, or fresh fruit.

Best route from here

Braai sides and sweet table

Collections to keep cooking

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