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.
The filling tasted great and the crust turned out amazing! But my filling didn’t seem to set 🙁 I followed all the steps but mine didn’t set at all! How long do you recommend leaving it in the fridge to set? Thank you for the recipe, by the way 🙂
Hi Max,
So glad you enjoyed the flavor and that the crust turned out amazing! For the filling, it’s actually not supposed to set completely—it should still have a slight wiggle. That said, try chilling it for at least 4 hours, or overnight for best results. If it’s too runny, add 1 tablespoon (or more) of cornstarch next time for a firmer set. Let me know if you need more tips!
This is definitely my go to milk tart recipe.
It always comes out perfect and it is so simple to make!!
This is definitely a nostalgic dish for me and takes me back to when I was a kid.
Love it so much!
I am so glad to hear this, Laura. Thanks for sharing 🙂 !
Really enjoyed!
Awesome! Glad you loved it!
If you’re based in the UK, you can use cornflour as dictated on the recipie for cornstarch, HOWEVER, it will create a dough-like batter, I used the eyeballing method to add more milk in (mixing it in with a hand mixer in the stove-top pot) until it became a bit more custard like, let it have a bit of a bubble and it set fine in the fridge!
Great! Thanks for the tip, Natalie!
I made this for my South African son in law. It turned out beautifully. I only used 1/4 tsp of almond extract because I find it can be a bit overpowering. I can see myself making this for many family dinners in the future.
Awesome! Thank you for the feedback, Heather!
Buy chance a bought a cream cake, arrived home I taste it, wow, it was fantastic, so I decided to look how to do it , I will soon see how good I ham, to do it.
Do let me know how it turns out, Mimmo 🙂 !
Taste is good but when cooking and stirring the milk filling- measurements exact to recipe – it came out like stodgy but smoothish grey porridge filled with grainy spice (I added nutmeg and cinnamon). Made a quantity change with the milk by adding another cup (250ml) and it still set before it even cooled. What have I done wrong as not the creamy light texture I know it should be.
Hi Nolene,
I am sorry this recipe didn’t turn out quite as you had expected. I am not sure what could have gone wrong. Please make sure you are using cornstarch and not cornmeal or corn flour as this does tend to alter the texture somewhat. Do let me know how it turns out if you decide to give it another go. Thanks!
I also loved it,it tasted amazing how ever the texture was not quite right and i used cornflour. I will be trying again with cornstarch nevertheless amazing recipe
Hi Bohlokoa. Yes, corn flour does give the tart a slightly gritty texture. Cornstarch is ideal for this recipe. Do let me know when you try it again 🙂 !
Does arrowroot powder work too?
Hello Loz.
Arrowroot and tapioca starch are suitable substitute for cornstarch, but they can be a little gummy. Hope that helps 🙂
I made this for boxing day lunch 2023, it travels well too, walking pulling in a trolley, then on a bus. It was devoured. I’m making another right now, all for myself.
It’s wonderful to hear that your Milk Tart was such a hit on Boxing Day, and it’s impressive that it traveled well too! It’s definitely a comforting and satisfying treat.
Making another one just for yourself sounds like a delightful idea. Enjoying a dish you’ve made and love, especially when you don’t have to share, is one of the simple pleasures of cooking and baking.
If you’re looking to experiment with variations or need any tips for your next Milk Tart or any other recipes, feel free to ask. Whether it’s tweaking the traditional recipe or trying something entirely new, I’m here to help.
Enjoy your Milk Tart indulgence!
I see you only added the nutmeg to the milk mixture boil, do you add the 1/2 tsp the recipe calls for when you sprinkle over at the end? Just a bit confused on that otherwise it came out beautifully. Waiting for it to chill now. Was super nervous about the milk mixture turning out clumpy but it was super smooth!!
Hi Suhina! Yes, the 1/2 tsp is sprinkled at the end. Glad it turned out good for you 🙂 !
I’ve made this milk tart many times and if the recipe is followed as is, it comes out perfectly and as you’d expect every time. A firm favorite in my home, and the only milk tart recipe that I use.
Thank you so much for your comment. I love it when recipes are winners:)
I loved thus recipe
Great to happy to hear it worked out well. Thanks so much.
baie lekker!!!
Baie lekker indeed! Enjoy.
This is the best melktert recipe I’ve ever tried. Made it for my friend in France and even she was impressed! 10/10
I’m so happy Toine. Thanks for your feedback.
Everyone loves this tart when i make it but its so easy to make it. I really cant take the credit. Its simply amazing
I’m thrilled to hear that the tart is a hit! Sometimes the simplest recipes turn out to be the most impressive, and it sounds like this one is no exception.
Even if it’s easy to make, you absolutely deserve credit for bringing it to life and sharing it with others. Cooking is not just about the complexity of the recipe, but also about the love and care you put into making it.
Thank you for sharing your experience. It’s feedback like this that makes the food community so enriching. Keep cooking and keep impressing! ️✨
GREAT RECIPE
Thank you. Please let me know if there are any recipes you’d like me to add to the blog.
This tasted amazing. I would love to make it again.
Oh great to hear that. Thank you so much!
Awsome recipe, but the almond extract really ruined it for me, it left a really bad after taste. Next time will not be adding it. Other than that it tastes perfect.
Sorry about the almond extract; that is a personal preference. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!
Hello.
Do you have a suggestion for a partial substitute for the corn starch? If I use all purpose flour as the substitute, do you know how many tablespoons I would need to use? I only have half of the required amount of corn flour/starch (11g).
Hi Meg! If using flour as the substitute for corn starch in this recipe, I will recommend adding 2 tablespoons of flour to the 11 g of cornstarch you already have. Hope that helps. Do let me know how it works out 🙂 !
Hello 🙂
Your advice to substitute the missing corn flour with the additional flour worked beautifully. Thank you. The milk tart was a real treat.
Awesome! Glad this worked out for you, Meg!:)
Absolutely yummy, my memories went back to when I was a little girl growing up in the Eastern Cape, Baie Baie lekker!
Sounds good, Thanks for sharing:)
This recipe is really great! I’ve been using it for probably 4 years now. And of course added my own personal touch to it. I tend to like it more on the creamier side so I add less cornstarch. But really great!
Also leaving nutmeg and almond extract.
Thanjs
Oh great to hear that. Thank you so much!
I really love this recipe
Thank you so much for writing this, Much Love:)
Very small portion, maybe try and make the recipe one and a half if you want to fill a standard pie dish. There is better melktert recipes available. I tried this one and was disappointed with texture, (to much flour) and the sequence of adding the ingredients is not traditional way of making it. Thank you for sharing
I’m sorry it didn’t turn out as expected. There are so many variations that can affect the end result. Altitude, humidity, oven temperature, etc. Thanks for trying it out.
Thank you very much for featuring a South African recipe! Please note that in Afrikaans it is Melktert, not Meltert 🙂
Thank you for catching that, I just fixed it. Stay connected with the blog and have more amazing recipe collection:)
Corn flour. Not corn starch.
There is a difference between the two. One being that it is nigh on impossible to source cornstarch in many countries.
Another being that they behave differently in cooking.
Some people will tell you they are interchangeable, which is entirely untrue.
Howeve, if you have made this recipe with BOTH and belive the results are acceptable with either please indicate to internet users that this is the case.
I understand the confusion. England and the United States don’t agree on what it means. In the States, cornstarch is what the Brits call cornflour. Hope that clears it up. Thanks for stopping by.