Melktert — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A silky, cinnamon-dusted custard set in a crisp shortcrust pastry shell — a beloved South African dessert of Dutch heritage, delicate and comforting.

Ingredients

Pastry: 200g flour, 100g cold butter, 1 egg yolk, 2 tbsp ice water, pinch salt
Filling: 1L full-cream milk, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 tbsp butter, 4 tbsp flour, 4 tbsp cornflour, 150g sugar, 4 eggs separated, 1 tsp vanilla extract
Ground cinnamon for dusting

Instructions

1 Make pastry: rub butter into flour and salt until crumbly. Add egg yolk and water, form dough. Chill 30 minutes.
2 Roll out pastry, line a greased tart tin, and blind bake at 180°C (350°F) for 15 minutes.
3 Heat milk with the cinnamon stick until just simmering. Remove cinnamon stick.
4 Melt butter, stir in flour and cornflour to make a roux. Gradually whisk in hot milk until smooth and thick.
5 Remove from heat. Beat sugar and egg yolks together, stir into the custard with vanilla. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.
6 Pour filling into the pre-baked shell. Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes until just set. Dust generously with ground cinnamon.

Did You Know?

South Africa celebrates National Melktert Day on February 27th, the same date as the country's National Braai Day — both honoring iconic elements of South African food culture.