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South African

Melktert

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

A crisp sweet pastry case filled with a smooth, light vanilla milk custard and dusted with cinnamon. A South African teatime classic with Dutch roots.

Melktert is a South African pastry, ready in about 3 hours 35 minutes and made with milk and cinnamon. It serves 10 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
A serving of Melktert
Photo: DimiTalen / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-3.0
Prep
30 min
Cook
35 min
Rest
2 h 30 min
Total
3 h 35 min
Serves
10
Level
Intermediate
Calories
357

Ingredients

10 servings

For the pastry

For the filling

To finish

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the flour, baking powder (opens in a new tab), salt and sugar (opens in a new tab), rub in the butter (opens in a new tab) and bind with the egg (opens in a new tab) to a soft pastry. Chill 30 minutes.

    • 8 min

  2. Step 2

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 180 °C. Roll out the pastry and line a 24 cm tart tin (opens in a new tab). Prick, line with baking paper and beans, and blind-bake 15 minutes; remove the paper and bake 5 more until golden. Cool.

    Dough being rolled out with a rolling pin
    How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Bring the milk (opens in a new tab) and butter (opens in a new tab) just to the boil. In a bowl, whisk (opens in a new tab) the sugar (opens in a new tab), cornstarch (opens in a new tab), flour and eggs (opens in a new tab) until smooth.

    Eggs being whisked in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Whisk (opens in a new tab) a little hot milk (opens in a new tab) into the egg (opens in a new tab) mixture, then pour it all back into the pan. Cook, whisking constantly, until thick and bubbling, then 2 minutes more. Stir in the vanilla (opens in a new tab).

    • 8 min
    • medium-low heat

    Food safety: Cook the custard until it boils and thickens so the eggs are fully cooked.

  5. Step 5

    Pour the hot custard into the pastry case, smooth the top and dust generously with cinnamon (opens in a new tab). Cool, then chill at least 2 hours until set.

    About this dish

    Origin
    South Africa · Commonly attributedAssociated with the Cape Dutch community; related custard tarts exist in the Netherlands and Portugal.More food from South Africa
    Dish
    Dessert · Snack · Pastries · Desserts
    Cooking method
    Oven-baked, Simmered
    Taste
    creamy, sweet, mild, aromatic / warmly spiced
    Diet
    Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
    All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-sodium
    Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    Make-ahead · Festive & celebration · Child-friendly
    Cook more with
    Milk · Cinnamon · All-purpose flour · Baking powder · Sugar · Butter
    Techniques
    Baking · Simmering

    Allergens

    • Contains: Milkfrom butter, milk
    • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
    • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder
    • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder

    Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

    Nutrition

    357 kcal per serving

    Calculated

    1 serving ≈ 183 g · recipe makes 10

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 9%
    • Carbohydrate 51%
    • Fat 39%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy357 kcal195 kcal
    Protein8.3 g4.5 g
    Carbohydrate45.9 g25.1 g
    Net carbohydrate45 g24.6 g
    Sugars24.4 g13.3 g
    Added sugars19 g10.4 g
    Fibre0.9 g0.5 g
    Fat15.6 g8.5 g
    Saturated fat9 g4.9 g
    Trans fat——
    Cholesterol112 mg61 mg
    Sodium217 mg118 mg
    Salt equivalent0.5 g0.3 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    195 mg
    Calcium
    166 mg
    Iron
    1.6 mg
    Magnesium
    19 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    165 µg
    Vitamin C
    0 mg
    Vitamin D
    1.7 µg
    Vitamin B12
    0.7 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    82 µg

    How these numbers were made

    • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
    • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
    • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
    • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

    Good to know

    Tips

    • Cover the custard surface with cling film while it cools if you don't want a skin.

    Common mistakes

    • Not whisking constantly — the custard turns lumpy and catches.

    Serve with

    • Serve chilled or at room temperature with tea or coffee.

    Storage

    • Refrigerate, covered, up to 3 days.

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

    Structure

    For the pastry

    Used in steps 1, 3

    Baker’s notes

    Customise in Bread & Bakery

    Timeline and readiness cues

    1. Mix and knead · about 30 min

      Mix only until no dry flour remains — overmixing makes it tough and tunnelled.

    2. Rest · about 30 min

      Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

    3. Bake · about 20 min at 180 °C

      Risen and golden; a skewer in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs; the top springs back.

    4. Cool · about 2 h

      Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.

    5. Start to finish: about 3 h 20 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

    If something goes wrong

    • Pale crust

      Likely causes

      • Oven too cool
      • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
      • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

      What to do

      • Check the oven with a thermometer
      • Brush with egg wash or milk
      • Shorten the fermentation
    • Burnt bottom

      Likely causes

      • Tray too close to the heat
      • Dark tray absorbs more heat
      • Too much sugar in the dough

      What to do

      • Bake on the middle shelf
      • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
      • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer

    Reviews & corrections

    Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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