Milk Tart: Done the traditional way!

MILK TART, what does milk tart mean to you? To me it means childhood and having a family gather on the weekends. Its what I looked forward to on a monday afternoon after school, rushing to the refrigerator to snatch up the last piece from that weekend. Everything about it makes me smile and feel young at heart again! You probably wondering who a dessert can make me feel so many things, but wait until you've tried it, then you'll know exactly why I love it so much! 
There are two different type of methods that can be used when making milk tar as well as two different pastry shells. The one I grow up on used a sweet pastry shell and the custard which made up the tart was more dense and firm. The other method uses aerated egg whites to lighten up the texture of the custard and the pastry shell is made from rough puff pastry. I was taught about the second method while I was still attending the SACA in Cape Town and then only learnt that thats originally how it was made. So today I'm going to give you the original recipe first and then later on I will post the other method of making this wonderful dessert. (The other method, the one I grow up eating is my favourite.) 

Ingredients

• 35 g cornflour
  
• 35 g flour
  
• 160 g caster sugar
  
• 3 eggs
  
• 500 ml milk
  
• 2 ml salt
  
• 2 cinnamon sticks
  

Method

1. So you will start by bring the 400 ml of milk and 80 g sugar to the boil with 2 cinnamon sticks.
   
2. Mix the cornflour and flour and the salt and 100 ml of milk to a paste ensuring that there are no lumps.
   
3. Then slowly add the boiling milk to the paste a little but at a time(tempering), then once all the milk has been added return to the pot and cook out on the stove until thickened , stirring constantly to prevent it from sticking.
4. Remove from the stove and place on one side, allow it to cool down slightly. 
   
5. Separate the eggs into the yolks and the egg whites.
   
6. Now you going to whisk the egg whites to stiff peak stage, sprinkle the remaining 80 g sugar on slowly and keep whisking until the egg whites become smooth and have a glossy appearance.  
7. Now take your egg yolks and give it a quick whisk and then add to the milk mix
8. Fold in the egg whites, and place into a rough puff pastry base.
9. Bake at 190°C for about 20 minutes.
   
10. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Rough puff pastry

• 250g x cake flour
  
• 2g x salt
  
• 190g x cold water
  
• 5g x lemon juice
  
• 190g x butter
  

Method:

1. Start with cold butter so that you are able to cut it into small 1-1cm cubes
   
2. Once you've cut your butter, take all your dry ingredients and place through sift to remove impurities and lumps. 
3. Now place 4 1-1cm cubes of butter in the dry ingredients and rub in well. 
   
4. Now that your mixture resembles that of sand add in your wet ingredients and form a ball of dough
5.  Wrap your dough and place into fridge for 20mins for it to relax and for the butter to become cold again. 
   
6. Remove from fridge and knead your dough on a well floured surface, add extra flour if  it is too sticky, the final texture of the dough should be that of your inner fore arm. 
7. All to rest for 10 minutes then start to roll dough out on table into rectangle shape as long as possible about 50-60 cm. 
   
8. Place chopped butter onto the dough surface spreading it out evenly.
   
9. Now that the butter is evenly spread across the surface of the dough give a single fold( rake one side and fold it 2/3 over itself and then take the other end and cover it to make a rectangular shape) 
10. Wrap the dough and place it into the fridge for another 20 minutes.
11. Now remove the dough and start rolling it out 50-60 again, but this time you are going to give it a book fold. (fold one side to the centre of the length of the dough and do the same with the other side and then fold in half. Now turn the dough 90 degrees and made a mark at the top, so you know that thats the direction to roll it out next. 
    
12. Place Back into the fridge for 20 minutes, than repeat stem 11 and 12 twice more. 
13. Once thats done your puff pastry is ready to be rolled out and be used. 

This might seem lie a lot of work but the taste and texture is far better than the frozen store bough puff pastry! So give it a go and if you fail at first just keep on try. 

Please feel free to post your attempts on my Facebook Page or on my blog! 

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