Milk tart Recipe

Milk tart Recipe. Image credit: Irene Muller

South African mini milk tarts: Traditional delicacy, but smaller

Making your own desserts is even more fun when they’re smaller. These South African mini milk tarts are fun and delicious!

Milk tart Recipe

Milk tart Recipe. Image credit: Irene Muller

If you’ve ever had a real South African feast, it often ends with a classic dessert, the milk tart. Based on the Portuguese pastéis de nata, South Africans made this custard dessert bigger and made it our own. Take things back to basics by making your milk tart smaller but still keeping that iconic flavour. With just a few ingredients, you can make these South African mini milk tarts for parties and special occasions in your own home.

South African mini milk tarts tips

Getting your puff pastry from the store is a good option because it’s almost always still great and you want to make your life easier. The vanilla custard is easy to make and comes out nice and creamy. The addition of cinnamon keeps the flavours traditional and they bake perfectly golden in only 10 minutes. The pastry is crunchy and golden with a light and not-too-sweet custard filling that reminds you of those weekends with your family.

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Making your own desserts is even more fun when they’re smaller. These South African mini milk tarts are fun and delicious!

Last updated on 31 January 2023

South African mini milk tarts recipe

5 from 3 votes
Recipe by Irene Muller Course: DessertCuisine: South AfricanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

12

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes
Total time

1

hour 

If you thought one milk tart was delicious, just imagine having multiple mini versions of this yummy treat. What’s not to love!

Ingredients

  • 2 2 free-range eggs

  • 4 4 free-range egg yolks

  • 8 tbsp 8 cornflour

  • 230 g 230 Castor Snow

  • 800 ml 800 milk

  • 4 tsp 4 vanilla extract

  • All butter puff pastry (you can buy this at food stores) Thaw before use according to instructions on the pack.

  • Cinnamon sugar (cinnamon mixed with sugar according to your taste)

Method

  • Lightly grease a 12 hole muffin pan and pre-heat oven to 200°C.
  • Place the eggs, yolks, sugar and cornflour in a pan and mix well together then gradually add the milk until mixture is well mixed and smooth. Make sure there are no lumps.
  • Place pan on medium heat and stir constantly with a whisk until mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Make sure that you have no lumps.
  • Remove the pan from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
  • Put custard in a glass heat resistant bowl to cool and cover with cling film to prevent skin forming.
  • For the pastry
  • Cut the pastry sheet into two pieces and place them on top of each other. Roll the pastry lightly, from the short side, into a log and cut the log into 12 even-sized rounds. On a lightly floured board, roll each round into a round shape (approx. 10cm) and press the pastry discs into the muffin tin.
  • Spoon into the pastry cups the cooled custard and bake for 20-25mins until golden on top.
  • Leave to cool in the muffin pan for 5 minutes, remove and place on a rack to finish cooling although they can be eaten warm.

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