South African Culinary Heritage Collection
SA Recipes
Ref: SAR-0013
Printed 03 November 2026
Baking
Desserts
Holiday & Party
Quick & Easy
Sweet
Milk Tart (Melktert)
Recipe by
Christo Lochenberg
Published 13 November 2025
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Ingredients
Tip: Click any item to cross it off while you prep.
- For the Crust:
- 250ml (1 cup) cake flour
- 125g cold butter, cut into cubes
- Pinch of salt
- 30-45ml (2-3 tbsp) ice cold water
- For the Filling:
- 750ml (3 cups) full cream milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 125ml (1/2 cup) sugar
- 60ml (4 tbsp) cake flour
- 30ml (2 tbsp) cornflour (cornstarch)
- Pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs
- 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
- Extra ground cinnamon for dusting
About This Recipe
A beloved South African classic, Milk Tart is a creamy, custardy tart with a delicate crust, lightly dusted with cinnamon. It's often served chilled and is perfect for any occasion.
Preparation Instructions
- Make the Crust: In a bowl, rub butter into flour and salt until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add ice water, a tablespoon at a time, mixing until a dough forms. Do not overwork. Form into a disc, wrap in cling film, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a 23-25cm tart tin.
- Roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and carefully line the tart tin. Prick the base with a fork. Bake blind for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 160°C.
- Make the Filling: In a saucepan, gently heat 500ml (2 cups) of milk with the cinnamon stick until just simmering. Remove cinnamon stick.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining 250ml (1 cup) milk, sugar, flour, cornflour, salt, and eggs until smooth.
- Gradually whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture. Return the entire mixture to the saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously with a whisk, until the custard thickens and comes to a gentle boil (it will be very thick). Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla essence.
- Assemble: Pour the hot custard filling into the pre-baked crust.
- Bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until the filling is just set but still has a slight wobble in the center.
- Remove from oven, let cool completely at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before serving.
- Just before serving, generously dust with ground cinnamon.
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© 2026 SA Recipes · Recipe by Christo Lochenberg
Source: https://sarecipes.co.za/browse/recipe/milk-tart-melktert · Developed by Christo Lochenberg
