Saying the words ‘milk tart’ to an expat Saffa is like saying ‘free trip to Thailand’ to any other normal person; they get that far away look in their eyes, a smile creeps onto their face, and you can see the glisten of tiny tears in their eyes. The first time I ever made a milk tart was as recently as last Christmas, in London (awful I know- who makes their first milk tart outside South Africa??) for my boyfriend’s cousins who we were having Christmas dinner with. Kim’s excitement at the prospect of a good old melk tert was just a tad bit of pressure, and I spent hoooooours trawling the internet for what I hoped would be an executable and excellent recipe. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of milk tart, so I’m never really sure what makes a good one. Turns out, the Christmas one was pretty yummy and ridiculously easy to make. Still, I secretly shared the opinion of the pommy guest who claimed that it’s “quite like a custard, really” with a polite said-inside-her-head “and quite a boring one”. Not to be unpatriotic, but I think she’s spot on, the best way to describe milk tart to a foreigner is as a poor man’s custard!
Right, now before I put you off and you start wondering why you are reading this post at all, let me share with you the ultimate of South African patriotic deliciousness: Amarula milk tart. When requested again to make another milk tart, I just couldn’t bring myself to make a boring, plain, well, milk tart. So I spruced it up a little, and the results have been wonderful! In terms of taste, that first bite gives you a kick you aren’t quite prepared for, but after the second slice I reckon it’ll be really hard to go back to the old version!
This recipe is crazy simple, requires no baking, and can be whipped up pretty quickly. Plus, the best thing is that every time I find myself making a milk tart for someone, it’s just full of love. Maybe I’m overly sentimental, but surprising someone with this milk tart is like taking a sick friend a cup of chicken noodle soup- it’s comforting, nostalgic, and just reminds the receiver that they’re loved. So, no more poor man’s custard, it’s time for the Saffa’s African delicacy, served with a generous portion of ubuntu.
Ingredients
1 can condensed milk
1 litre full cream milk
1 cup Amarula liquer
2 eggs
¼ cup Maizena/cornflour
1 packet Tennis/Marie biscuits
¾ cubed, softened butter
Method
Crush your packet of biscuits to a fine crumb. Melt a few cubes of butter and mix with the biscuit crumbs. Press the crumbs onto the bottom of your pie dish and refrigerate until needed.
Get a large pot and put it on a medium heat. Tip in the can of condensed milk, then using the same can, add 2 cans of milk, and 1 can of Amarula. Allow to come to a simmer.
Meanwhile, fill the can ¼ with Maizena, add 2 eggs and a splash of milk, and beat until well combined. Add some of the warm milk mix to the can and mix well.
Add the flour mix to the pot and cook over a medium to low heat. Whisk continuously to avoid any lumps!
Once the mixture has thickened to a custard consistency (this happens fairly quickly), take off the heat and stir through the remaining cubed butter. To get it super smooth, you can give the mix a final beat with electric beaters.
Leave the custard to cool for a few minutes before pouring into your pie dish. Smooth over the top, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon before serving with a cup of coffee!
This recipe makes two disposable pie tray sized milk tarts, one for you and one for a friend xxx
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