South African Milk Tart (Traditional Melktert Recipe)

Silky smooth and creamy, this traditional Melktert recipe is made with custard spiced with nutmeg and cardamom! Topped with a good amount of cinnamon, this South African Milk Tart, is a wonderfully rich custard tart that can be made with everyday ingredients you will find in your cupboards! We made our own shortcrust pastry, but if you wish you can simply use shop-bought shortcrust or puff pastry, or even a pre-baked tart case. The star of this South African Melktert is its spiced custard filling!

This South African Custard Tart is a wonderful dessert to serve after a South African feast of Bobotie and Yellow Rice!

Jump to:

• History of Milk Tarts in South Africa
• Equipment Needed
• Ingredient Notes
• Step-By-Step Method
• Tips & Tricks
• More Tarts and Pies To Try Next Time
• Melktert | South African Milk Tart

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History of Milk Tarts in South Africa

Melktert, a delicious tart with creamy filling is a traditional South African dessert and holds a rich history rooted in the early 17th century. Derived from the Dutch influence in the Cape of Good Hope, Melktert, meaning "milk tart" in Afrikaans, is a custard pie renowned for its simplicity and delicate flavours.

With its origins tracing back to the Dutch settlers who arrived at the Cape Colony (a large area around Cape Town), this sweet treat quickly became a staple in the local cuisine. 

The secret to its light texture lies in the combination of silky custard filling made with milk, eggs, sugar, and a hint of fragrant spices like cinnamon. As time passed, Melktert became an emblematic dessert cherished by generations, representing the fusion of Dutch heritage and South African culinary traditions.

So if you like pastel de nata or Hokkaido Cheese Tarts, you are sure to love this South African Custard Tart! Let's jump in!

Equipment Needed

To make this tart recipe you will need a loose bottom 20cm (8in) tart tin, but you may also use a pie dish. Other than that, you will need a few bowls, a few pans, pie weights and a whisk! That's all!

Ingredient Notes

If you want to make your own shortcrust pastry, you will need some all-purpose flour (plain flour, or cake flour), butter, icing sugar and egg yolk. For the filling and topping, you will need:

• milk: make sure to use full-fat milk (whole milk) for the creamiest results. 
• double cream: also known as heavy cream. 
• vanilla bean paste: or seeds from a vanilla pod. You may also use vanilla extract. 
• spices: nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon. 
• egg yolks: we used medium eggs in the UK, you may need large eggs in the US. 
• caster sugar: also known as superfine sugar. You can substitute it with white granulated sugar though. 
• cornflour: also known as corn starch. 
• plain flour: aka all-purpose flour. 
• salt.
• butter: unsalted.

Step-By-Step Method

Step 1: Make the Sweet Pastry Crust

1. Place flour in a large mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. 2. Mix in the icing sugar. 

3. Then add the egg yolk to the flour mixture and mix to combine. If the pastry feels too dry to form a dough, add 1 tablespoon water. 

4. Shape into a ball, flatten, wrap it in cling film and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

***If you have a food processor, you can make the pastry by pulsing the flour, icing sugar and butter until it looks like breadcrumbs. Then add the egg yolk and pulse again until clumps of dough start to form. Finally, tip the mixture out onto the surface to bring it together into a ball. ***

STEP 2: Bake The Tart Case

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Roll out the pastry into a circle that's approx. 5cm larger than the tart tin, to about 3mm thickness.

2. Lift the pastry over the tart tin. Push the pastry into the corners gently. Leave the pastry overhanging the sides of the tin (they may fall off during cooking, so I'd suggest placing a tray underneath to catch them). Prick the base of the pastry case all over with a fork. Place a large sheet of baking parchment on top of the pastry and fill it with ceramic baking beans.

3. Blind bake the tart case for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and baking parchment and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until golden brown. Cool completely before adding the filling. 

***If you don't want to make homemade crust, you are welcome to use a shop-bought ready-rolled pastry or make a cookie crust. Alternatively, try it with our Sourdough Pie Pastry instead! ***

Pastry made this way can be used in a bunch of different recipes including Cornflake Tart, Tarte Aux Fruits or Apple Frangipane Tart.

Step 3: Make Milk Tart Filling

1. Heat the milk, double (heavy) cream, vanilla, nutmeg and cardamom in a pan over medium heat.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks, sugar, flour, cornflour (corn starch) and salt. Vigorously whisk the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture (if you're too slow, the egg may scramble).

3. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook until thick and smooth, whisking continuously. Cook the custard until thick and smooth. It should be so thick that it would be reluctant to drop off the spoon. 

4. Take the mixture off the heat and beat in the butter.

5. Pour the custard into the buttery crust. Lightly brush a piece of baking parchment with odourless oil (like rapeseed, sunflower or vegetable oil), then press it onto the surface of the creamy custard filling to prevent skin from forming.

Step 4: Chill & Top With Cinnamon

1. Place the whole thing in the fridge and chill for at least 4 hours or ideally overnight.

2. Just before serving, finish the melktert with a generous dusting of cinnamon over the custard. Slice into individual portions and serve chilled. 

Don't Know What To Do With Leftover Egg Whites? Head straight to our article on The Best Ways to Use Up Leftover Egg Whites for some of our favourites, including White Chocolate and Cranberry Macarons and Gluten-Free Coconut and Pineapple Roulade!

Tips & Tricks

• Be patient and wait for the custard to thicken thoroughly before beating in the butter. 
• Experiment with spices in the custard: try this tart with pumpkin spice or even add some almond extract instead of vanilla!
• Chill this South African classic for at least 4 hours before you safely cut into it. But I would strongly recommend leaving it to set overnight. The pictures of the Melktert in this post show a wonderfully creamy texture after 4 hours of chilling. It is lovely, but you may not get a very clean cut if you aren't patient enough.
• Store the South African Tart in the fridge for up to 3 days. Unfortunately, it does not freeze well.  

More Tarts and Pies To Try Next Time

If you liked this South African Milk Tart, we think we can tempt you with other wonderful recipes below: 

• French Fruit Tart (Tarte Aux Fruits)
• Apple Frangipane Tart 
• Easy Cornflake Tart