Milk Tart
Milk Tart/Melktert – 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 Melktert 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:
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!!
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.
We eat melk tert throughout the year,it is definitely not only a holiday food.
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.
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?
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
Hi, could this recipe be made with almond milk as an alternative to milk? Thanks
Yes it could.
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 🙂
Awesome!! I love immaculate looking pastry cases too ;). I am so glad this recipe is a hit with you, Ed! Thanks for stopping by!
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.
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 🙂 !
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?
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.
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?
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.
Same thing here and I added more cornstarch. Disappointed
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.
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?
Flour would do just fine . Let me know if you try them, would love to hear about it.
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!
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.
Help, my batter didnt stay whiteish.. it turned brownish… i think i did something wrong. Also the almond extract is very strong.
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.
Hi do i bake the filling or pop it in the fridge
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.
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!
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.
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
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!
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
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
Hubby loved it thanks
How long does the tart keep for???
Hi. You may keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Silly question but what type of milk do you recommend using? Full fat, semi skimmed or skimmed?
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.
Can I make it without crust? Perhaps in individual ramekins? Or just Graham crust? It would be like custard only.
I haven’t tried making this without the crust. But those sounds amazing! Please do let me know how it went for you.
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.
Thanks for the feedback!
I unfortunately do not have a food processor. Is it possible to make the dough without one?
You can, but that’d be a lot of work. Please do let me know how it turns out for you.
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.
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!!
Magic
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 🙂
Yes, I do. I add one egg yolk to the crust.
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?
Hi Janini! I add just 1 large egg yolk. Recipe corrected.