Milk Tart/Meltert – Easy, Rich and Creamy – Perfect entertaining pie with an easy press-on pastry crust. 
It doesn’t take much to make this delicious, perfect-for-entertaining tart. This popular South African milk tart qualifies as one of those quick and easy tarts to whip up in a pinch. All the ingredients for this milk tart are right in your pantry – no extra shopping needed and it is all made from scratch. And the best part – it is very comforting and great for the holiday season. 
Milk Tart or as the Afrikaans call it Meltert is a creamy milky tart. A little reminiscent of custard pie but more delicate, with a lighter texture and a strong milk presence. Don’t wait for this pie to firm up – it just doesn’t, more of a pudding with a crust. It is made with a sweet pastry crust often referred to as Pate sablée, the good thing about this pastry is that you do not have to worry about rolling it out – all you do is press the crust into the pie pan – freeze for 30 minutes and then bake without weight. Freezing prevents the pie from rising. 
Here are a couple of tips when making milk tart
- You can make the crust ahead of time, bake and leave out until ready to be use.
- Use store bought pastry pie if you are pressed on time
- Switch up the flavors, I used nutmeg and cinnamon
- A lot of recipes call for throwing in a cinnamon stick so it infuses the milk mixture – if you have some handy by all means use it, if not just use cinnamon spice.
Enjoy!
Milk Tart
Ingredients
Sucre Patee (Pastry Crust)
- 1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (35grams ) confectioner’s sugar powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 9 Tablespoons (125grams) unsalted butter(cold or frozen) , cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg yolk
Milk filling
- 2 1/4 ( 496 ml) cups milk
- 2 tablespoon (28grams) butter
- 2 tablespoons (20 grams) flour
- 3-4 tablespoons (23- 30grams) cornstarch
- 1/2 cup (100grams) sugar
- 2 Large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg or replace with cinnamon
Instructions
Pastry Crust
- Butter or spray a 9-inch pie pan with a removable bottom – making sure it is has been adequately sprayed. Set aside
- Place flour, salt and sugar in a food processor pulse for a couple of times to mix ingredients.
- Throw in butter and pulse until rough dough forms.
- Then add egg yolk - pulse until the dough barely comes.
- Remove dough place on a work surface - knead just enough to incorporate all the dough. Working the dough as little as possible.
- Do not overwork the dough; otherwise it’ll be too tough. When it’s ready, the dough will be barely moistened and come together into a ball.
- Lightly press the dough on the prepare pie pan – working from the center up until the bottom and sides are fully covered with pastry – again be very gentle when pressing the dough onto the pie pan.
- Place pie pan in the freezer and freeze for at least 30 minutes or more this helps prevent the dough from rising- if you are in a rush brick, then bake with beans to prevent rising.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven
- Bake crust for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the crust is dry and golden browned. Set aside
Milk Filling
- Place saucepan over medium heat, add butter, nutmeg and milk -bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
- In another bowl, mix together flour, cornstarch, sugar, vanilla and almond extract- whisk in eggs until smooth. Gently whisk into the saucepan making sure there are no lumps
- Now return the pan back on the stove – keep stirring constantly until in starts to bubble.
- Cook for about 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and pour mixture into the baked pastry shell Sprinkle with cinnamon. Chill until ready to be served.
Tips & Notes:
- You can make the crust ahead of time, bake and leave out until ready to be use.
- Use store bought pastry pie if you are press for time
- Switch up the flavors, I used nutmeg and cinnamon- just love the flavor combination
- A lot of recipes call for throwing in cinnamon stick so it infuses the milk mixture – if you have some handy by all means use it, if not just use cinnamon spice.
Nutrition Information:
Kelly says
Hi – I think the problem here is that the metric and imperial measures are not converting accurately, so imperial calls for 3-4 spoons of cornstarch and metric calls for 2! It’s hard to know which one to follow.
ImmaculateBites says
3-4 Tablespoons would do just fine.
Lisa says
I’ve made this recipe several times for friends from South Africa. They say it tastes just like they remember from home. My own family loves it too – it’s such a homey comforting food. I also love how easy it is to make. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Imma Adamu says
You’re welcome, Lisa! I’m glad that you and your friends loved it!
Michael Schach says
Filling was extremely stodgy … please review the gram weight values for the flour in the filling … 2 tablespoons should be more around 20g … not 57g . Had to scramble by adding another 225 g milk to compensate
ImmaculateBites says
So sorry to hear about this . Recipe has been updated . Thanks
Michelle says
There were a few comments on this recipe complaining that the filling was too runny. The tbsp equivalent of the flour is stated incorrectly in the recipe, hence some people battling – I weighed the flour (which ends up being around 7 tbsps), and that worked. A very yummy version of this South African treat!
ImmaculateBites says
I just made this recipe and 3-4 tablespoons of cornstarch works just fine . Milk tart is not suppose to be too firm. Have updated recipe.
Thanks for taking time out to share this this .
Jeff says
Simple and delicious. I used both cinnamon and nutmeg in the mixture (because I misread the instructions), and it turned out great. I used lowfat (1.5%) milk and cut back a tiny bit on the sugar, but the flavour didn’t suffer for it at all.
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for sharing .Am so thrilled !
Stephanie says
This was so amazing! I’m South African and have been living abroad for year. I made this for a dinner party and was so happy with how it turned out. I’d like to note that I made the pastry without a food processor and didn’t mind it too difficult at all. I would also highly recommend making this with full cream milk. Also half the nutmeg and no vanilla essence for a more traditional tasting milk tart
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear it worked out well.
Charley de greeve says
Saw this yesterday and thought I’d give it a go last night for my dad who is originally from SA, and I forgot to put the vanilla essence in tried again this afternoon, and used the half/half nutmeg – cinnamon in the mixture instead of just nutmeg.SO HAPPY with it! Takes me straight back to Durban❤️ Just make sure you keep mixing when on the job, and use heaped spoons of the cornflour. Thankyou so much for sharing x
ImmaculateBites says
Glad it worked out well, charley. Thanks for taking time out to share your thoughts with us .
Stephanie says
Hi! Are these American cup sizes? Would you be able to post the amounts in ml? Thank you!
Also wanted to ask if this can be made without a food processor?
ImmaculateBites says
Yes they are . Recipe has been updated .
Enjoy!!
Aneesa says
Hi! So i have been looking for the best milk tart recipe and yours seems to be the best. I just wanted to know if I could use cake flour instead of all purpose flour?
By the way I’m really really excited to try this!
ImmaculateBites says
Yes you sure can. Happy Cooking!!
Samru says
Is it compulsory to do those in a food processer?
imma africanbites says
Hi. You can use your bare hands,it’d work as well. But using a food processor would make it a breeze.
Grace says
I am an American, and there is a South African man starting work with me. I am wanting to make him something South African to welcome him to our team. Is melktert something he would appreciate? Is it a festive food? It is summer here. Would you eat melktert in the summer? I just don’t want to make a fool of myself if it’s a Christmas or holiday food and I serve it to him in August. 😀 Thank you!!
imma africanbites says
Hi, Grace. Milk Tart is usually eaten during the holidays as a celebratory dessert. Maybe you can try this other South African treat Malva Pudding ( https://www.africanbites.com/malva-pudding-chocolate/ ). In this recipe tho, instead of drenching this cake with plain warm butter sauce, I added some chocolate to it. Hope this helps.
Lynn says
We eat melk tert throughout the year,it is definitely not only a holiday food.
Canny says
Here in South Africa we eat milk tart all year round. It is in the shops and bakeries here all the time and people often buy it or make it for the weekend so it’s definitely not just a holiday treat. You can have it anytime.
Azuka says
I read this recipe with great interest. But then, looking at the photos I was totally puzzled. The early photos of the making of the crust shows a wooden thingy with a knob on it. I’ve never seen anything like that associated with baking. Could you tell me what this device is? Does it have moving parts? What do you use it for?
Denise F says
It looks the center section of her food processor, before she puts the top on. The blade would be covered by the pie crust mix so all you would see is the center post. HTH
Netalie says
Hi, could this recipe be made with almond milk as an alternative to milk? Thanks
ImmaculateBites says
Yes it could.
Ed says
The best bit about this recipe is the easy pastry / sablé. Its a joy to work with compared to man other recipes that require a rolling pin and that are a pain to handle. Being a bit of a perfectionist, I love it when the pastry case looks immaculate before baking and that’s easy to do with this dough. this is now my go-to recipe for sweet shortcrust.
Oh, and the filling is pretty tasty too 🙂
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome!! I love immaculate looking pastry cases too ;). I am so glad this recipe is a hit with you, Ed! Thanks for stopping by!
Nick M says
Love this! As a South African I’m always looking for my favorite recipes that remind me of my childhood in SA. I have tried this both with and without the almond essence and I prefer without – Tastes much more like the original, the almond was overpowering to the overall taste.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Nick. Wow, you must have had a really sweet childhood 🙂 ! I am glad you loved this recipe. True, almond essence is a little strong. Best to use only a little at a time. I am glad you found out what works for you. Thank you for stopping by 🙂 !
Nikki says
Hi, looks like a great recipe, just confused regarding point 3 and 4 in the filling, once it bubbles you remove it from heat or once it bubbles you stop stirring and continue cooking for 5-6 minutes?
ImmaculateBites says
Once it bubbles . You Stop stirring. , after mixing the mixing the rest of the ingredients – bring to a boil. Then reduce heat on low and let it cook for 5-6 minutes.
Lisa says
Hi Imma, I felt for a treat so I tried making the milk tart, it was quick and seemed easy however the filling is not setting, I’ve put it in the fridge but it’s still quite runny, can you think of something I might have done incorrectly?
ImmaculateBites says
I can’t say for sure without actually being present. If all else fails try adding about a tablespoon of cornstarch to the filling to thicken it up and make it set. This should be done during the cooking process.
Sonia says
Same thing here and I added more cornstarch. Disappointed
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Sonia,
Sorry to hear about that. This tart doesn’t set- it’s not runny either nor it is it firm- it’s like custard sauce. Just made it this weekend . Will be posting a video of this soon to show the consistency.
Azuka says
I would like to try the recipe, but absolutely can’t have any corn products, such as cornstarch, in the ingredients. My wife is severely allergic to corn products which hampers our life no little bit. Is there an alternative to cornstarch that could be used in the recipe? Typically, I use flour to replace cornstarch, and sometimes use guar gum, which is 9X as potent as the starch. Do you have a recommendation?
ImmaculateBites says
Flour would do just fine . Let me know if you try them, would love to hear about it.
Kristen says
Hi there. I know this a bit of an old recipe, but I’m hoping you still read these comments. Firstly, I made this recipe for my dad who loves milk tart but was never able to find one as good as his mother’s and he said this one was even better! I’m going to make it again at Christmas, but I want to make it ahead of time. How long does the crust alone keep in the fridge? I’ll make the filling closer to the time, but I do want to get the crust out of the way asap. Thanks!
ImmaculateBites says
So happy to hear this! It can last for a few days, for best results . Cover it tightly so it does not absorb any flavor from other food in the fridge.
LYNETTE says
Help, my batter didnt stay whiteish.. it turned brownish… i think i did something wrong. Also the almond extract is very strong.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Lynette , It might have got slightly burnt when cooking the milk mixture – try reducing the heat . You don’t have to use almond extract leave it out completely. It’s a matter of preference.
Ayesha says
Hi do i bake the filling or pop it in the fridge
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Ayesha! You do not bake the filling. When you pour the filling into the baked pastry shell, sprinkle with cinnamon and chill until ready to be served.
Susi V says
Awesome recipe that turned out just perfect! The crust was perfectly crumbly and the filling just the right taste and texture. As another South African pointed out, almond essence is not commonly used here and I left it out, and also used less spices in the filling to ensure a light colour and subtle taste. The nutmeg and cinnamon topping is traditional and a winner combination.
I am a South African (though admittedly of German descent) and this the first time I made milk tart. I have come across this blog many times before while looking up recipes for African dishes and it is always a source of inspiration and useful info. I will be back soon no doubt. Thank you!
Dan says
The recipe looks good and I tried it but you need to edit your recipe as there is a mistake. You need to add cinnamon to the method part of your recipe for the filling. Because it is only listed in the ingredients part and not the method part for the filling, I forgot to include it until I had already poured the custard into the pie dish and then had to add cinnamon and stir the custard in my already baked pie. I would also put much less almond essence and nutmeg because this makes the tart not taste like a traditional milk tart.
Marley says
Dear Imma,
South Africa is one of my favorite places in the world. I tried your recipe and it worked out perfectly and instantly transfers me back there. Thanks sooo much for sharing and I can’t wait to try more recipes. Best wishes from Europe 🙂
Marley
Christine Cullen says
Hello. American here! I made a milktart for my neighbor and botched it up, not sure how. I looked for a better recipe, came across this one and just made it – the crust looks perfect, the filling smooth and creamy and it’s chilling now. Question? The one that came out poorly was baked in an unbaked shell. Your recipe only calls for the shell to be baked and the filling to be poured into the shell and cooled before cutting. Is there a “right” South African milk tart – that is, are they usually baked or usually not baked, like yours? Thanks for the pictures in the recipe instrucitons, helplful!
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Christine,
So happy to hear it worked out well for you.
I can’t say with all certainty if there is right or wrong way of making this. Recipes are evolving… in my opinion , it’s always makes sense to slightly bake the tart shell first , before adding the milk tart . Hope this helps
Summer says
Hi Christine, traditional milk tarts are made simply by blending biscuits and butter to form a mouldable base. Just press it into the tin and add the filling then slap it in the fridge. No baking required 😉 Easy as pie. Love from South Africa xx
Tamarin says
Hubby loved it thanks
Joe Parker says
How long does the tart keep for???
imma africanbites says
Hi. You may keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Dawn Summerfield says
Silly question but what type of milk do you recommend using? Full fat, semi skimmed or skimmed?
ImmaculateBites says
I would recommend full-fat milk because it makes it creamier. You could still use the semi-skimmed or skimmed if you are on a diet.
Natalia says
Can I make it without crust? Perhaps in individual ramekins? Or just Graham crust? It would be like custard only.
imma africanbites says
I haven’t tried making this without the crust. But those sounds amazing! Please do let me know how it went for you.
Rony says
Im a chef on a boat that has about 20 south African crew. I often make them treats like this to make them happy. With this recipe they all agreed that it was pretty much perfect and bang on except for the almond flavour. I doubled the recipe so that’s 1 full tablespoon of essence. If i made it again i would just use a few drops. Other than that it was a great recipe and well received.
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for the feedback!
Miqy says
I unfortunately do not have a food processor. Is it possible to make the dough without one?
imma africanbites says
You can, but that’d be a lot of work. Please do let me know how it turns out for you.
Susi V says
I don’t have one either but it’s easy enough to rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers. I have just made this and the pastry was really good. Crisp and crumbly and not the slightest bit tough.
Sara says
Amazing amazing amazing! Ever since living in South Africa for a few months I’ve loved making this pie- and this recipe is by far my favorite. I played a little with the flavors this time and subbed the nutmeg for some cardammon. Truly scrumptious. THANKYOU!!
Conrad Kruger says
Magic
Heidi Edwards says
In the method for the crust, it says, “add eggs”, but the crust recipe calls for just 1 egg yolk.
Do I use 1 egg yolk?
Thanks, can’t wait to try it 🙂
ImmaculateBites says
Yes, I do. I add one egg yolk to the crust.
Janini says
Hi there why does it say “eggs” instead of egg in the pastry section? is there only 1 egg in the pastry or is there more?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Janini! I add just 1 large egg yolk. Recipe corrected.
Nita says
In Afrikaans it is actually called Melk-tert and not Mel-tert (‘Melk’ means milk and ‘tert’ means tart). I usually make my gran’s Melktert recipe, but I am excited to try yours this weekend!
Will comment on how it turned out 🙂
imma africanbites says
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this, Nita! Enjoy!
Emma says
Absolute best melktert recipe ever! Thank you so much!
imma africanbites says
Thank you so much, Emma! Glad you like it.
Tee says
Hi
A colleague brought Meltert to work today following your recipe. It was delicious and i plan to make it for a party next weekend.
I am a bit confused on the quantitty of the ‘butter’ mentioned in the recipe. Can you please write it down in this comment for me?
Xoxo
T.
imma africanbites says
HI, Tee. The recipe calls for 128 g (9 tbsp) of unsalted butter (cold or frozen cut into small pieces) for the pastry crust and 29 g (2 tbsp) of butter for the filling. Hope this helps.
Jo says
I’m a South African and I’ve eaten *a lot* of milk tarts. Almost every weekend. School events. Parties. You name it. We’re no longer living in SA and my hubby requested it. I followed this recipe but left out the nutmeg as another SA lady suggested.
It was hands down the best milk tart I’ve ever eaten. Both my mom (visiting) and husband agreed! Thank you so much. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
imma africanbites says
Awww, thank you so much, Jo! That means a lot to me! Thank your for taking the time to share your feedback. 🙂
Orlyn says
Hi, do you remember a South African cooking book, I remember only one word “ Kettle “
I am searching all over, cannot find it, maybe your Mom remember?
Please can u help?
Thanks a lot!!
Orlyn Ellison
orlyn.ellison@gmail.com
Ann Smith says
Are you referring to the Kettle Braai cookbook? If so, I have it
Ace says
SO glad I’ve found this! Going to substitute the spices for lemon. My mom absolutely loves tarts but we never seem to have double cream in when I need it, didn’t think milk would set like this but it gives me all kinds of ideas!
ImmaculateBites says
Yes it does.
Ellie says
Hi,
What a lovely site. The recipe looks promising.
Any chance you know how many grams – are the equel – of the 9 TBLS noted in your recipe ?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi,
It’s about 125 grams. Thanks.
Ellie says
Thank you!
BTW, The tart turned out fabulous! ! My dad said it reminded him of sweet childhood memeorie 🙂
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with me.
Happy Holidays to you and your family!!!
Alicia says
Thank you for this great recipe!
ImmaculateBites says
Glad you liked it.
Liezel Boonzaier-Lacquaye says
im going to make this in Belgium for husband and his family. but im lost at the butter for the crust… is it 9 tablespoons or 1 stick (what size? ) 1 tablespoon and 9 tablespoons… please advise. cant wait to make this…♡
ImmaculateBites says
Sorry about the confusion, it’s 9 Tablespoons butter.
Liezel Boonzaier-Lacquaye says
As a South-African knowing a good milk tart, this one passes 100%. However, we dont add Nutmeg to the milk mixture in SA. I made it according to your recipe and the nutmeg was very overpowering in the milk mixture. So i would suggest that if you love it, add it but the original way is no nutmeg inside and only cinnamon on top. But other than that, lovely tart, great crumbly base
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback!
Antonio Teixeira says
Love your website
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Antonio! Thanks for letting me know!
Anisa says
Wow Firstly!!
Please let me know if the custard fllling sets almost jello ish or liquidy. I prefer a more wobbly jello like finish and not runny custatd ,,, thank you in advance❤️
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Anisa! I think this would be perfect for you jello ish and wobbly .
Lynda says
Thanks for a super easy recipe!
Mary says
Thanks for sharing. I was googling for milk tart recipes and I’m glad I clicked on your site. I do have a suggestion though. I think you should highlight the “Milk Filling” line same as the crust ingredients. I got confused how there was so much pastry crust ingredients. But still, you write really well and the photos are great also. Thank you.
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks Mary. Will do now.
Sophia says
Hey,
just wanted to tell you that I baked your Milk Tart and it was DELICIOUS!
Everything went good and the steps were really easy to follow.
Thank you for sharing!
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Glad it worked out well for you.
... says
These look delicious. I like your desserts. I have an event where I can sell some of these desserts there. Hope they like them!
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks. They sure would.
Janine says
I cant get my hands on corn starch or custard powder. Can I substitute the corn starch with potato starch?
ImmaculateBites says
You sure can.
Erin says
You can use corn flour…… and you can buy both cornstarch and custard powder on Amazon.Com
Susi V says
Cornstarch is just plain old Maizena – I imagine you can get that anywhere? I think in some places it would be called “cornflour” which may be the source of the confusion.
Leigh says
This is my go to recipe for milktart but without the almond extract! Thank you so much for a great recipe!
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Glad to hear this.
Sophia says
Looks REALLY good, will definitely try it out! But one question: Is the tart still good the next day?
ImmaculateBites says
It sure is Sophia! Make sure you cover it to keep it fresh.
Carmen Byrt says
Can you freeze this milk tart after its been baked?
ImmaculateBites says
Carmen.I have never tried freezing it, so I can’t say for sure.Will definitely try freezing when I make it next time.
Stephen says
It does not thaw well – milktart never really does. The liquids make crystals when you freeze it and then there is some separation when they thaw again, because it doesn’t all thaw at the same speed. It becomes clumpy with some runny bits. I would rather eat it fresh and then make some more when you need it.
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks Jessica.
Jessica @ Jessica in the Kitchen says
This tart looks amazing! Oh I’d love a bite out of that right about now.
Naa says
Dear Imma, i am drooling,for the oddest reason, this reminds me of snickerdoodles and gooey butter cake …….all because of the cinnamon on topping.
ImmaculateBites says
Naa, you are going to go crazy once you take a bite. I almost finished eating the filling before pouring it into the pastry shell.
Arisa says
This looks sooooooo good!!!! (: G-d bless, Sis:)
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks Arisa.
Nagi@RecipeTin Eats says
I’m so amazed that the milk filling sets like that! I never would have guessed that from reading the ingredients. It’s giving me all sorts of ideas for other things I could use the filling for (because I have a fear of making my own pastries)! Pinning, thanks for sharing this Imma!!
ImmaculateBites says
Nagi, thanks for pinning.I can’t wait to see what you make out of this.