It’s the simplicity of taste that makes milk tart great

There’s a reason every fete sells a ‘stukkie melktert’, writes FRANK CHEMALY

TUESDAY is a special day in our culinary calendar. It’s National Milk Tart Day The melktert or milk pie originates in Dutch medieval cooking and arrived in South Africa via the Dutch settlers in the Cape. Some people trace its origin to Mattentaart described by Thomas van der Noot in 1510 in his recipe book, Een notabel boexcken van cokeryen (A Notable Book of Cookery).

It is a pie with a crust and a custard filling, baked in a round pie tin. After baking, it is often dusted with cinnamon. The filling is made from milk, sugar and eggs, thickened with flour, but everyone has their own recipe. The ratio of milk to egg is higher than in a traditional Portuguese custard tart (pastel de nata) resulting in a lighter texture and a stronger milk flavour.

For Durban baker and deli owner Jenny Clark, it has echoes of childhood.

“In the Afrikaans community at every fête you had to have a ‘stukkie melktert’ with lots of cinnamon on top. I was brought up in Namibia and it was always the first thing you bought, along with pannekoek and vetkoek, of course.”

She believes the secret of the dessert’s success is its “simplicity of taste”.

Clark has been making milk tarts for years. It all started with her aunt’s recipe which she made and sold for 15 years.

“And then I discovered a better one. My son’s girlfriend, Heidi, showed me her recipe. It’s marked at the top ‘Ouma Burger’s melktert resep’. It’s from year dot. And I’ve been making it for about two years now.

“It really has the most amazing buttery shortcrust pastry, and the secret which is unusual is that it also has two tablespoons of cooking oil in it.”

This one is a deep crust pie that certainly looks impressive. The pastry is baked separately from the custard which is just set in the casing. The whole cooking process takes about an hour.

Clark says the custard is crucial. “It must be properly set, but it also musn’t be like glue.

“Ours is made on the stove. Many milk tart recipes separate the eggs and you whisk in the egg white later, but this doesn’t need egg white at all. The custard also shouldn’t be too sweet.”

When told about a recipe for milk tart samoosas, she says: “You’ve got to be joking”, – that’s until she realises you’re using phyllo not samoosa pastry. She has done variants including mini croissants stuffed with milk tart filling and glazed with apricot jam.

She notes the Thai people do something similar with custard desserts, and the Greek bougatsa (a custard-filled phyllo roll) is also one of her favourites.

“Anyone for a milk tart milkshake,” she laughs. “I’ve already done that for my beesting cake.”

Marie Louise Guy, co-author of The South African Milk Tart Collection, has found variations around the world.

“It has become difficult to define milk tart because you now get milk tart shakes and alcohol flavours.You could even find different flavours in various parts of the country. Some add dried naartjie peel to add flavour, while others make red velvet milk tart by adding beetroot.

“In places like the Bo-Kaap they use turmeric powder that gives the crust a more orange colour.

“Some people also add rum and almonds or peanuts. It is a unique soufflé experience,” says Guy.