This recipe makes 1 very generous Milk Tart - to which I have added my favorite Short Crust Pastry which is my go to recipe - Just can't find a better pastry than this! - It is a thin crust without wastage - An easy press in the pan recipe- The one I would highly recommend!
Total Calories in whole recipe: 2,108 - Total weight of Recipe: 1285 g
Servings: 8 - Calories Per Serving (161 g): 264
Tip: Lovely if you add a drop or two of almond essence to your pastry!
Ingredients: (Pastry) - Total weight of pastry: 102 g - Total Calories in Pastry: 526
44 g (3 Tablespoons / 45 ml) butter - May use a hard margarine or ½ and ½
1 Tablespoon caster sugar
44 g (90 ml) Cake Flour - or use your set of measuring spoons
Pinch salt or to taste
1 drop almond essence or to taste (optional)
grated nutmeg (optional)
Method:
Place your 23cm diameter tart foil or baking dish on scale and weigh into it your flour, caster sugar and salt. Rub in butter with fingertips until it forms crumbs. Knead to form a ball and press into foil tart baking dish. Use flour dusted pastry press - if you don't have, use your fingers to press out pastry into tart dish.
Bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 8 minutes if you are going to bake your milk tart or prefer a softer pastry. If you are not going to bake your milk tart and prefer a crispier pastry 10 - 12 minutes - Remove from oven. Set aside to cool.
Filling: Total weight of filling: 1183 g - Total Calories: 1,582
750 ml milk
Pinch salt
3 cinnamon sticks
125 ml sugar
4 eggs, separated (large / size 3)
50 ml (21 g) Cake Flour
50 ml (32 g) Corn flour
30ml butter / margarine (Set aside to add last)
7.5 ml Vanilla essence or (nutmeg, a few drops almond or caramel essence or combination to taste)
2.5ml baking powder (Only if you are going to bake your mixture)
1 Roll of cinnamon, broken into pieces (If using powdered cinnamon, no need for sugar below)
45 ml sugar, gind up with cinnamon roll in coffee grinder
Below are my methods which are by far the quickest and easiest flop proof methods!
METHOD: (1000 watt Microwave)
Into a 5 liter microsafe bowl placed on scale, weigh in your corn flour, cake flour, salt and sugar. Crack over your whole eggs or yolks only if you are going to bake your milk tart, setting aside your whites for later. With beaters switched off, stir the egg mixture into your flours to get it all wet before switching on your beaters or you will have flour in your face.
In another 5 liter bowl, add all your milk together with 3 cinnamon sticks and bring to boil. Stop and allow to infuse, repeat again to allow for further infusion by resting in between infusions. Keep hot while you prepare your tart pastry.
A soon as pastry shell is ready bring milk to a rapid rolling boil again and with strainer held high over bowl of egg flour mixture with electric beaters running in mixture, pour your boiling milk through strainer into bowl below all whilst continuously beating to partially cook your mixture. Beat until smooth.
Quickly place bowl back into microwave and cook on high for 3 minutes. Remove when you see it beginning to rise up and thicken around the edges and beat mixture again to smooth out any lumps. Do not allow too much heat to be lost in between stages.
Return mixture back to oven for further 3 minutes to cook on high.
Remove and beat again for a 2nd time.
Repeat same procedure for a 3rd time and then taste that the mixture is cooked - If not put back to cook on high for a further minute or two or a little longer for a lower powered microwave or until you can taste the egg - flour mixture is cooked and no longer tastes raw and has thickened.
Do NOT overcook or the cornflour will begin breaking down and mixture will begin to thin out.
You may now add your butter, vanilla essence and or other flavorings - If you have a stick blender you may run it at an angle as mixture is cooling to incorporate air bubbles into it - Do not over do it or you will you will start losing air. Using the tip of your spatula before it cools down too much, gently tip mixture out into pie foil plate guiding it out around sides of bowl using the tip of your spatula & incorporating as much air as you can whilst gently easing it out into pie foil plate. Do not press down on top of mixture with spatula). Dust surface with bought cinnamon powder or a roll of cinnamon ground up with 45 ml sugar in your coffee grinder which is by far the better option. Allow to cool, cover with another pie foil plate and refrigerate until set. Sets up fairly quickly in winter within an hour it will be ready to serve. - Enjoy!
Conventional Method - Stove Top:
Mix 150ml milk with cornflour and cake flour, salt and sugar (with beaters switched off) until smooth. When all flour is wet, beat in egg yolks.
Mix 150ml milk with cornflour and cake flour, salt and sugar (with beaters switched off) until smooth. When all flour is wet, beat in egg yolks.
Bring the rest of your 600 ml milk to a rolling boil and with your beaters running, pour this over your creamed egg flour mixture continuously beating on high speed until smooth and lump free.
Pour this mixture back into pot and continue cooking stirring until mixture thickens and tastes cooked.
Do NOT overcook or the cornflour will begin breaking down and mixture will begin thinning out.
Add your almond essence or vanilla or a combination of flavorings to your own taste like caramel essence and or grated nutmeg or ground cardamom etc.
Set aside to cool.
Do NOT overcook or the cornflour will begin breaking down and mixture will begin thinning out.
Add your almond essence or vanilla or a combination of flavorings to your own taste like caramel essence and or grated nutmeg or ground cardamom etc.
Set aside to cool.
With clean chilled beaters (stored in freezer works well) whip up your egg whites until fluffy (not little balls of fluff) and with a spatula fold egg whites into your custard mixture.
Gently ease mixture out into prebaked pastry case. Dust with cinnamon and Bake (pre-heated oven) 180 C for 25 - 30 minutes. - Enjoy!METHOD: (If you are going to bake your filling):
When your custard is ready, blend your baking powder into your vanilla essence and add it to your custard followed by your butter.
With clean chilled beaters (stored in freezer works well) beat up the egg whites until fluffy (not little balls) and with a spatula fold them though you custard mixture.
Ease mixture out into your prebaked pastry case and bake in preheated oven 180C folding in your fluffy beaten egg whites (not stiff!). Just give it one to two quick turns with your beaters. Do not break down your air too much within your egg whites, & do not leave any egg white blobs within your mixture either, as you will taste it in your Tart! Guide mixture carefully into pregreased tart foil plates & Bake (pre-heated oven) 180 C for 25 – 30 minutes. Dust tart with freshly ground cinnamon sugar or just a bought powder. – Enjoy!
END OF RECIPE!
TIPS:
- If you are going to bake your mixture - Separate your eggs and beat up whites separately with clean beaters until fluffy but not stiff that they form balls.
- If NOT separating the eggs - Try beating enough air into your mixture as possible - Starting with an electric beater during cooking stage followed by switching to stick blender during cooling down stages (as it starts thickening). Stick blender held at an angle does a good job right whilst mixture is cooling down as it is begins to thicken, you will then be able to incorporate more air bubbles into it. Stop once you see enough air bubbles in your mixture. Do not continue any further or you run the risk of reducing them. Do this only if you are NOT going to bake your filling and before it sets, work quickly and gently ease it out with spatula into prebaked pie crust. Dust tops with cinnamon. Set aside to cool.
- If you are baking your mixture: Do NOT use stick blender to fold in your beaten egg whites - Use the folding in method with your spatula. If you see there are a few blobs of egg whites laying around, use your electric beaters and just give it a quick 1 - 2 quick rotations only - NO more or your egg whites will deflate.
- Do not cook your butter in your filling - Blend it through once your filling has cooked or if you are going to bake it - right before folding in your beaten egg whites.
- To prevent Salmonella poisoning your mixture must reach a temperature of 160 C to cook the eggs.
- If you are not going to bake your milk tart make sure that your eggs are fresh!
- Personally I never use my thermometer.
- To test if mixture is cooked - taste it - and you will know immediately when it is cooked.
- Use your set of measuring cups & spoons if you don’t have a scale - Pack measures lightly & level off surface with the back of a knife. Never press contents down. It's baking law!
Thank You Ian for this recipe! - Original recipe sourced on http://wegsleepforum.weg.co.za/forum/kampsake/kampkos/2290-melktert-resep-nog-n-wenner