I'm rather surprised at myself. Despite all the busy-ness (business?) going on, I'm still mildly keeping up with my weekly promise of a new recipe. (Although I do admit, this post is past due by a couple of days.) This week, we're heading towards the Cape with a traditional (or so I've read) South African recipe simply called a "milk tart." Basically, it's a custard pie with cinnamon, and it's UH-MAZE-ING. I mean, the other recipes were good, and granted, it's not like dessert is a staple to many of the countries we're visiting, but this is something I'd actually like to add to my repetoire of baking. I had a couple of friends over for dinner the other night and served them a slice — everyone loved it, including my mom, who is a health nut and hisses away everything that comes out of the oven that smells of sugar and butter.
Anyway, a little bit of background of South Africa.
South Africa has an estimated population of 49,004,031 with Pretoria is its Capital. I'm not quite sure where in South Africa during the World Race we'll be heading to, but it's a close neighbor to Mozambique and Swaziland, both of which we are heading to as well, so perhaps we'll be staying in the eastern parts. As you all should know, South Africa has a rich and somewhat tortured history with a cultural, social, and political composition that is unique. With the termination of Apartheid (only) within the last twenty years, followed by ingenuine ANC leaders and a skyrocketing number of HIV infected civilians (statistically perhaps the largest concentration in the world), South Africa is crying out for redemption.
Because of its' rich history of colonization, the "traditional" recipes that are circulated and enjoyed now are not really native to the land, but are a result of a variety of Western settlers — From Dutch, French, German to British and Indian influences. The milk tart I made this week, I've read, is a common dessert/snack to be eaten during afternoon tea. (Brits?) Anyway, without further ado, here is the recipe:
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 4 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- In a medium mixing bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter or margarine and 1 cup sugar. Add 1 egg and beat until mixture is smooth. In a separate bowl, mix together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture just until ingredients are thoroughly combined. Press mixture into bottom and sides of two 9-inch pie pans.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.
- In a large saucepan, combine milk, vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon butter or margarine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then remove from burner.
- In a separate bowl, mix together 2 1/2 tablespoons flour, cornstarch, and 1/2 cup sugar. Add beaten eggs to sugar mixture and whisk until smooth. Slowly whisk mixture into milk. Return pan to heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 5 minutes. Pour half of mixture into each pastry shell. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Chill before serving.
The recipe says that it will make two 9 inch pies, but I used my standard Pyrex glass pie pan and the recipe worked for just one pie (though in hindsight I wouldn't have minded 2 pies :)) I used a combination of butter + shortening for the crust (simply due to economic ease), and the crust puffed after I took out my pie weights, so I just pressed down the crust with the back of a spoon after taking it out of the oven. It made for a very dense, doughy crust that tasted like a sugar cookie. It was absolutely marvelous. May I suggest that you serve your pie with whipped cream and a drizzle of honey.
Milk tart + honey = a heavenly experience in the tastebud land of milk & honey!!!
Enjoy 🙂
