Mini Milktarts

These mini version of the traditional milktart are the perfect dessert to pack for a picnic

If you are South African, then you are no stranger to milktart. This dessert draws many parallels to a custard tart, but with a few differences. The first is that the custard has a wonderful spicy note thanks to the cinnamon and nutmeg. The second is that there is a higher ratio of milk to eggs, than in a more traditional custard tart, so has a softer set.

I often make this recipe, but was wanting to take it for a picnic and so wanted a smaller version which would be an individual serving. I also wanted to change the crust a bit, looking for something a bit more sturdy to be transported.

The original recipe to my milktart can be found here.

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FOR THE PASTRY

• 240g cake flour
• 130g cold butter, cubed
• 75g icing sugar
• 50g egg yolks
• 2 tsp vanilla essence

METHOD

1. Place the cake flour, icing sugar and cold butter in a food processor. Blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Combine the egg yolks and vanilla essence together and slowly stream into the flour mixture.
3. When it begins to clump, but before it comes together, remove from the processor and work into a single dough by hand. It’s important not to overwork it in the food processor.
4. Place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
5. When ready to use, roll out to 3mm thick and place into your jumbo muffin tins.
6. Place the pastry-lined muffin tins in the freezer for 20 minutes.
7. Pre-heat the oven to 180° Celsius.
8. Remove the tins from the freezer, line them with baking paper, fill them with baking beans and blind bake the pastry for 20 minutes.
9. Remove the baking beans and bake the pastry for a further 5 minutes. The pastry shells are now ready to use for the mini milktarts.

FOR THE MINI MILKTARTS

• 650ml milk
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• a generous grating of fresh nutmeg
• 25g cake flour
• 25g corn flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 180g butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 3 eggs, yolks and whites separated
• ground cinnamon, for dusting

METHOD

1. Leave the oven pre-heated to 180° Celsius.
2. Once the shells comes out of the oven, you can begin making the custard.
3. Place 325ml of the milk, the cinnamon sticks and the nutmeg in a medium size saucepan. Heat over medium heat until the milk starts to boil.
4. Whilst the milk is heating, mix the remaining 325ml milk with the flour, corn flour and sugar and set aside.
5. Once the milk in the saucepan comes to a boil, reduce the heat and add in the flour/milk mixture and return to medium heat, stirring continuously.
6. Then add in the butter and continue to stir until all butter is melted.
7. Finally, add in the egg yolks and stir until the custard thickens and looks velvety.
8. Pass the custard through a sieve to remove the cinnamon and strain out any lumps.
9. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into the custard mixture. Pour the custard into the pastry shells.
10. Bake for around 15-20 minutes, until the custard is set, with a slight wobble in the middle.
11. Let the mini milktarts cool to room temperature, before putting them in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours.
12. Dust with cinnamon before serving.

Recipe by adventureswithsugar.com