Ready to bake the ultimate milk tart for Milk Tart Day on 27 February? Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a newbie in the kitchen, these handy tips from the MyKitchen food team will have you whipping up a creamy, dreamy dessert that’s sure to steal the show. 

Top tip #1: Pack the crust with flavour 

“Don’t waste time, make that no-bake biscuit-butter crust. My secret? I add a big pinch of cinnamon to crushed coconut biscuits to make sure that iconic cinnamon taste is in every single bite of my fridge milk tart. You can also go fancy with an extra hand of finely chopped nuts in your cookie base.” 

– Liezl Vermeulen, Head of Food, MyKitchen 

Top tip #2: Give the filling some delicious flavour 

“Infuse the milk with vanilla, citrus, coconut or even ginger before making the filling for an extra flavour dimension. Another great tip to prevent the milk tart filling from cracking, is to allow the cooked milk tart to cool completely at room temperature before refrigerating.” 

– Lichelle May, Food Editor MyKitchen 

Top tip #3: Explore more crust options 

“Milk tart is classically made using shortcrust pastry, but you can get creative and use loads of other options! Blended biscuits and butter – use a biscuit of your choice to create a delicious quick base: tennis, ginger, Marie biscuits or even eet-sum-mores are great options.  

Flaky pastry or phyllo pastry – these will result in a more savoury puffed base (flaky) or a super crisp, thin base (phyllo). If using phyllo, brush melted butter between layers.  

Your milk tart can even be crustless! Love the filling but not the pastry? Simply bake in a pie dish and enjoy the creaminess of your dessert without a crust getting in the way!” 

– Sjaan van der Ploeg, Deputy Food Editor 

Try this delicious twist on the South African classic:

Two-tone chai milk tart 

Serves 6 

Ingredients 

200g Romany Creams, crushed
⅓ cup melted butter
1L milk
4 chai tea bags
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp corn flour
3 Tbsp flour, sifted
3 Tbsp cocoa, sifted  

Method  

1. In a bowl, combine the crushed biscuits and melted butter. Then press into a 22 cm, loose-bottomed pastry tin. Place in the fridge to set.
2. Pour the milk and chai into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat.
3. Whisk together the eggs, sugar, corn flour and flour. Temper the egg mixture with the hot milk and then return everything to the heat.
4. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, until thickened.
5. Once thickened, pour half the mixture into a large bowl and mix in the cocoa.
6. Carefully fill half the biscuit shell with chocolate mixture, and the other half with the rest of the mixture.
7. Cool completely and then set in the fridge before serving.

Image: Shutterstock / Supplied 

The post 3 expert tips to make your best-ever milk tart  appeared first on MyKitchen.