Milk Tart
This easy, rich, and creamy milk tart (melktert) is the perfect entertaining pie with a simple press-in shortcrust pastry. Get smooth South African cheesecake vibes without the work, time, and expense.
It doesn’t take much to make this delicious, perfect-for-celebrating tart. This popular dessert qualifies as quick and easy to whip up in a pinch. The ingredients are probably right in your pantry, so no extra shopping is needed for a satisfying made-from-scratch dessert.
And the best part? It’s great for the holiday season. Melktert, as it’s called in Afrikaans, is a creamy custard pie with a delicate, lighter texture and a strong milk presence.
What the Texture Is Like
Don’t wait for this pie to firm up because it just doesn’t; it’s more of a pudding with a crust. Even better, you don’t have to roll out the pate sablée, the traditional sweet pastry crust. All you do is press the dough into the pie (tart) pan, freeze for 30 minutes, and then bake without weights. Freezing prevents the shortcrust from getting crazy.
How to Make Milk Tart
- Pulse the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor a couple of times. Then toss in the butter and pulse until a rough dough forms. Pulse in the egg yolk and knead just until it comes together into a ball.
- Press the dough into the prepared tart pan, working from the center out until the bottom and sides are fully covered. Freeze it and bake it until golden brown.
- Heat the milk, butter, and spices. Then mix the sugar, extracts, and thickeners.
- Mix the eggs into the thickening mixture, then whisk it into the hot milk, and simmer until thickened. Pour it into the tart crust, dust with cocoa powder or cinnamon, and chill it.
Recipe Tips
- Make the crust ahead of time, bake it, and leave it at room temperature for up to 2 days until ready to make the tart.
- You can also make shortbread cookies with this dough.
- Don’t feel guilty about using a store-bought pie crust if pressed for time.
- A lot of recipes call for infusing the milk with a cinnamon stick, so go for it if you have some handy.
Making it Ahead and Storage
Since it benefits greatly from chilling, this custard-like pie is great for making the day before. Cover well with plastic wrap and slice it when ready to enjoy.
Even though it will last in the fridge for 3-4 days (even up to a week), I don’t recommend freezing it. The filling may separate and start to weep. If you know, you know.
More Delectable South African Dessert Recipes
- Traditional Koeksisters
- Pampoenkoekies
- Malva Pudding
- Aebleskiver Danish Pancakes
- Condensed Milk Cake
By Imma
This blog post was originally published in November 2014 and has been updated with additional tips and new photos.
Milk Tart
Ingredients
Pastry Crust (pâte sablée or pâte sucrée)
- 1½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (40g) confectioner's sugar
- ¼ teaspoon (2g) salt
- 9 tablespoons (125g) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (cold or frozen)
- 1 large egg yolk
Milk Filling
- 2¼ cups (530ml) milk
- 2 tablespoons (28g) butter
- ½ teaspoon (1-2g) ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon (1-2g) nutmeg (or more cinnamon)
- 2 tablespoons (15g) flour
- 3-4 tablespoons (22-30g) cornstarch
- ½ cup (100g) sugar
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (2-3ml) almond extract (optional)
- 2 large eggs
- cocoa powder or ground cinnamon for dusting
Instructions
Pastry Crust
- Grease a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, making sure it is well coated. Set aside.
- Place flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to mix the ingredients.
- Toss in the butter and pulse until a rough dough forms.
- Add the egg yolk and pulse until the dough barely comes together.
- Remove the dough, place it on a work surface, and knead just enough to incorporate everything, working the dough as little as possible. Overworked dough will make tough pastry. When it's ready, it will be barely moist and come together into a ball.
- Lightly press the dough onto the prepared pie pan, working from the center out until the bottom and sides are fully covered. Again, be gentle when pressing the dough onto the pie pan.
- Place the pie crust in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to prevent the dough from rising during baking. If you are in a rush, weigh it down with beans to prevent it from rising.
- Place the rack in the center of the oven, then preheat it to 400℉ (205℃).
- Bake the crust for 20-25 minutes or until it's dry and golden brown. Set aside.
Milk Filling
- Place a saucepan over medium heat, add milk, butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and bring it to a boil. Remove it from the heat.
- In another bowl, mix the flour, cornstarch, sugar, and the extracts. Whisk in the eggs until smooth. Gently whisk the mixture into the saucepan, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
- Now return the pan to the heat and keep stirring constantly until it starts to bubble. Cook for 5-6 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and pour the mixture into the baked pastry shell. Sprinkle it with cocoa powder or ground cinnamon and chill until ready to serve.
Tips & Notes:
- Pâte sablée and pâte sucrée have the same ingredients, but the process is different and delivers slightly different results. The pâte sablée is crumblier, while the pâte sucrée puffs up more. I won’t tell anyone if you use a different crust.
- If, in spite of your best efforts, there are lumps in the milk filling, an immersion blender will take care of it. Just be careful not to burn yourself.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
I made this in Sydney – ex-South African for work where Sth Africans also work. They loved it. Brought back memories and tart was gone in no time. I cut back a bit on the sugar in the pate sucre and infused the milk with cinnamon and a couple of cardamoms and it worked a treat. Thank you for sharing recipe. Australia may have the custard tart, but the melk tart wins each and every time!
Thank you for your love and support, Stay tuned for more South African recipes.
I just tried making this tart and found it so thick.. I see some are saying its great while others say too much flour.
Confused. I think the flour is too much ..2 1/2 cups???
Hi, Bets. The flour for the crust listed in the recipe card is only 1 1/2 cups.
I’ll make this recipe for a bunch of my Aussie friends for our pilates Christmas party! I have one question, how large is the serving size? As in how many grams?
We’re all a bit health conscious so it would help to put their minds at ease
Hi there! This will make a 9-inch pie, where you can make 7 servings out of it. This is what you get per serving girl. 🙂
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 416kcal (21%)| Carbohydrates: 48g (16%)| Protein: 7g (14%)| Fat: 21g (32%)| Saturated Fat: 12g (75%)| Cholesterol: 125mg (42%)| Sodium: 167mg (7%)| Potassium: 149mg (4%)| Sugar: 24g (27%)| Vitamin A: 735IU (15%)| Calcium: 107mg (11%)| Iron: 1.6mg (9%)
This is one of the tastiest and easiest milk tart recipes I’ve ever tried. I’m going to check out your other recipes too. It’s been over 2 years since I last visited SA and I am missing it so much and this brings some home comfort. Thank you Imma!
I’m glad you like it, Renata. Looking forward for you to try out my other recipes.:)
I loved this recipe however I’ve recently become lactose and have been using almond milk as a alternative. Would this work or is there another option?
I have tried unsuccessfully for years to make milk tart. Thank you, this recipe created the perfect milk tart. The crust makes it professional, the whole tart is yummy. Definitely a keeper.
Happy to know that, Gail! Thank you!
another great recipe, thank you, also yummy
Filling was very firm and rubbery. If making again I would try with just over half the flour measurements – maybe 2 Tablespoons of each flour type. Flavour was nice despite unpleasant texture.
Sorry it turned out that way, Emma. But yes, around 2 tablespoons should be fine for next time 🙂 Thank you for making this!
If it was rubbery, you overcooked your eggs.
overcooked eggs in a custard-type filling = scrambled eggs.
rubbery is too much starch. cornstarch / flour.
Weigh your flour and starch better and ensure you arent using a high-protein flour.
Lekker!
Thank you, Andrew!
I have just made this melktert. The amount given in ml for the milk is incorrect. 2 1/4 cups of milk is 496 ml. Not 296 ml. I made it for a South African friend whose birthday is today, which happens to be Melktert day, 27h February. I’m waiting for her take on it.
Thanks . Recipe updated .
I actually threw out my grandmothers milk tart recipe because I love this one so much and it’s quicker and easier to make!
I live in Australia and make this for my Aussie friends and everyone absolutely loves it. I serve it up with a few blueberries/strawberries and a bit of whipped cream on the side.
I used half the amount of sugar for the filling and it was still delicious! Thanks for sharing.
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.
3-4 Tablespoons would do just fine.
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!
You’re welcome, Lisa! I’m glad that you and your friends loved it!
So sorry to hear about this . Recipe has been updated . Thanks
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!
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 .
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.
Thanks for sharing .Am so thrilled !
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
Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear it worked out well.
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
Glad it worked out well, charley. Thanks for taking time out to share your thoughts with us .
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?
Yes they are . Recipe has been updated .
Enjoy!!
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!
Yes you sure can. Happy Cooking!!
Is it compulsory to do those in a food processer?
Hi. You can use your bare hands,it’d work as well. But using a food processor would make it a breeze.