Recipe of the day: Peppermint crisp milk tart

One of South Africa’s favourite desserts that has a long tradition, the milk tart, is receiving a well-deserved celebration on Monday (27 February), as it is Milk Tart Day. 

Milk tart, or Melktert as it was originally known introduced by the Dutch settlers in the Western Cape in the 1600s and is said to have been adapted from a recipe for Mattentaart which is a small, sweet cake made from a filling of curdled milk.

This milk tart is extra special as it adds another local favourite peppermint crisp milk tart to the recipe. 

Peppermint crisp milk tart

Ingredients for Base

• 150g plain flour
• 75g unsalted butter
• 50g icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 50g Peppermint Crisp, chilled

Method

1. Place the flour, unsalted butter, icing sugar and peppermint crisp into a food processor and blend in short bursts until it resembles breadcrumbs. 
2. Tip into a bowl then add the beaten egg yolk and mix to form a dough. If the dough looks too dry, add a tablespoon of water. Shape the dough into a ball, flatten it out into a disc, wrap it in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins. 
3. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out evenly on a floured surface. Grease a pan and dust lightly with flour.
4. Gently place the rolled-out dough into a round flan pan and neatly shape it into the corners. Use a fork to poke holes in the base. Cover and place in the fridge for a further 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200ºC. 
5. Remove the tart shell from the fridge, place greaseproof paper on the base and fill with a layer of baking beans (or you can use uncooked rice).
6. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the greaseproof paper and baking beans and bake for a further 5 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Turn off the oven and leave the base in the oven for 10-15 minutes, then remove and place on a wire rack to cool.
8. Meanwhile, make the filling.

ALSO READ: Recipe of the day: 4-ingredient milk tart squares

Ingredients for filling

• 500ml fresh milk
• 28g butter
• 20g flour
• 25g corn-starch
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Place a saucepan on medium heat and add the milk and butter and bring to a boil.
2. Remove from the heat. In another bowl, mix the flour, cornstarch, sugar and vanilla essence and whisk in eggs until smooth.
3. Gently whisk the mixture into the saucepan making sure there are no lumps.
4. Return the saucepan to the stove and keep stirring constantly until in starts to bubble.
5. Cook for about 5-6 minutes.
6. Pass through a strainer to get a smooth texture.

Ingredients for topping

• 50g Peppermint Crisp, chilled
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (or more if preferred)

To assemble:

1. Pour the still-warm custard into the baked pastry shell ensuring that it spreads evenly.
2. Allow to set and cool completely.
3. In a bowl finely grate the Peppermint Crisp and mix it with the ground cinnamon and then sprinkle over the top of the tart.
4. You can use a stencil to make it look even more fabulous!

This recipe is courtesy of Capsicum Culinary Studio Durban campus.