Cook with Us - March, Week 1 - Granny's Milk Tart
I am the type of gal who finds cooking and baking to be the best therapy as I forget about all my troubles and the kitchen becomes my 'happy space'!
Before the world wide web was born, you would find recipe books piled up next to my bed for bedtime reading, as crazy as it sounds! What a relief however every time I meet kindred spirits who do the same, although these days it's the likes of Pinterest and Mrs Google :)
So a huge thank you to the team of @cookwithus - @pandamama, @offoodandart and @chefsteve for this contest, as it's right up my alley and many other steemians as well!
The family recipe I will share with you for 'Cook With Us' March Week 1 is called Milk Tart.
This is a crisp shortcrust base filled with a delicious creamy and fluffy vanilla egg custard with a sprinkling of cinnamon.
The beauty of this family favourite is that it's made with everyday pantry ingredients, yet produces a delicious teatime or dessert treat.
I will never forget standing on my Granny's kitchen chair to 'help' her in the days of church bazaars/fetes, as Milk Tarts were her contribution towards fund-raising.
My Gran had a big heart and even though she had to count her pennies, she would give generously.
There would literally be dozens of Milk Tarts in the kitchen, dining room and even the living room; I counted 48 tarts on one occasion!
Nowhere near 48, but this old family recipe makes 3 Milk Tarts (19 cm diameter).
Mom Lily took over from Gran and this became her specialty for any celebration.
Another plus is that one can bake the pastry, turn it out and cool on wire racks and store the pastry cases for up to a week in an airtight container and fill as required.
Mom regularly used to make a dozen of these pastry cases for an old friend who froze them and delighted her little grandson with instant treats.
These days I double up the pastry and freeze the cooked pastry cases which can be filled with a filling of choice.
Ingredients required.
Milk Tart Recipe
Pastry
125 gram Butter or a good Baking Margarine, at room temperature
125 ml White Sugar
1 Egg
500 ml Cake Wheat Flour
5 ml Baking Powder (not baking soda)
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Filling
1 litre Milk
175 ml White Sugar
Pinch Salt
50 gram Butter
150 ml Cornflour
3 Eggs, separated
5 ml Vanilla Essence
Method
Cream butter and sugar till smooth.
Add the egg (I doubled up my pastry for freezing therefore 2 eggs)
Beat till light and fluffy
Add dry ingredients and blend till mixture comes together and is smooth.
Press into buttered tart pans using fingertips.
These are my Granny's original tart pans, it's mine till death us do part :)
Bake at 170 C in fan oven (or 180 C in regular oven) for about 15-20 minutes or till a nice golden brown.
Leave to cool a little before loosening with the mechanism in the pan and carefully place on wire racks to cool.
Note - you can use foil pans and leave it in there after baking.
Once cool, place on serving plates.
Place milk, sugar, salt and butter in a deep pot, reserving approx 1/4 cup milk.
Bring to the boil.
Mix cornflour, egg yolks and vanilla essence with the extra milk till smooth.
Whisk egg whites till stiff peaks form.
Add cornflour mixture to milk just before it comes to the boil, use whisk and stir till thick and smooth and starts to bubble.
Fold in stiff egg whites.
Spoon hot filling into baked pastry cases.
Sprinkle cinnamon on top.
Enjoy with a cup of tea or a good filter coffee after dinner.
Note: Milk Tart is a traditional South African delicacy, but the old-fashioned recipe requires a puff pastry and the filling is baked in the raw pastry case. The resultant filling is quite runny and has to be eaten with a spoon, whereas Granny's Milk Tart has a crisp base, creamy filling and can be picked up by hand, so my Granny was way ahead of her time :)
Please upvote, comment and resteem if you enjoyed my post.
All images property of @lizelle
Jisi ek is groot gemaak op melktert, dis hoekom ek lyk soos wat ek lyk.
Haha @vanzyl, dis darem te veel temptasie vir n mens! Bly om jou weer te sien:)
Ek sal altyd kom inloer as iets nuuts sien van jou. Wil jy nie dalk na my cauliflower pizza post kyk nie ek sal dit baie waardeer.
Sal definitief kyk, jy moet oorweeg om na @jaybird se sandwich contest te kyk, baie pret en baie interaksie tussen die contestants en jy kan goeie steem wen :)
You have just answered my prayers @lizelle. I have been craving milk tart all week and didn't want to buy because I didn't want to be disappointed. Now I have a recipe to use instead. Thank you.
So glad @jusipassetti, and it's an old family recipe, so you can continue the tradition in your offspring :):)
Most definetly and I'm looking forward to it.
Cooking is a art. Your recipe looking so attractive also. To make new recipe is my passion. Thank @lizelle for sharing your recipe with us.
Thanks @jareen61, nice to see you again :)
I have yet to find a milktart that will top this one... never have and the chances are I never will :) Thanks for the recipe. Justine has some baking to do!
So right @therneau, that recipe has traveled near and far as everyone who tastes it wants it :)
Welcome to @cookwithus and thank you for your entry! I love your story of how you would help your Gran while she made these tarts for the church. It is great to learn that way from a young age and to learn from your family.
I also like to read cookbooks before bedtime! I have done that for years. While today I probably use the internet more, I still have hundreds of cookbooks in my home that I reference often.
Your milk tart looks so delicious. This seems like the perfect dessert to eat with a cup of tea or coffee. Your work looks so professional, I can tell that you have made this recipe many times! I bet you even have the recipe memorized! Thanks for all the photos that show the method so well. This is really helpful for people that will make your recipe. Thanks again for such a nice entry. Good Luck!
Ah a kindred spirit! I still but recipe books even though I can google anything, just love it!
This really is such a easy recipe and keeping the cooked pastry cases in the freezer is the best. You can whip up a quick Lemon Meringue Tart, a decadent filling is Caramel, sliced Bananas & Cream, whatever combinations you can think of. I also bake the pastry in patty pans to make individual tartlets, they stack nicely in an airtight container.
Thank you so much for this opportunity, wish you tons of entries :)
Hello friend how are you, I just woke up and turned on the computer and I find the cake of the grandmother, what a delight to wake up seeing a recipe so rich, I love eating cakes, give my regards to the grandmother.
Hi Jenni, I thought you would enjoy this one :):) Have a great Sunday! ps mom Lily says hello to my Venezuelan friend ;)
cooking is a blessing sometimes i can cook and just leave it there to buy food outside. I find cooking to be very difficult for me and when i try my best to cook you wont even taste it. lol.....
You must keep on trying, and don't tell yourself you cannot cook. When I was in high school my mother used to let me cook for dinner, and it often was a big flop but my dear father used to eat the whole plate of food and tell me how delicious it was. Of course next time I tried harder till the food started tasting better :):)
yeah you are right. practice makes a man perfect. i will start following your foot steps. And i know i will be perfect one day
Great stuff, go for it! Hope to see your cooking soon. Check out @jaybird's Sandwich Contest, a ton of inspiration there and a ton of fun as well although this week's theme is a tad difficult but generally it's 'anything goes' and sandwiches are not difficult plus you can win a nice amount of steem :)
Thanks I will check that.
I like these pies with the fill) Thank you for the simple and delicious recipe!
Thank you @naditinkoff, it's such an easy recipe but really delicious!
looks delicious @lizelle i should try it
Thank you @mrs-cook, it really is an easy recipe, nice to see you again :)
Hello @lizelle! Thanks for participating in the #cookwithus contest.
I love hearing your memories growing up with your grandmother and mom and how it relates to the tarts. It makes the tarts even more special, I’m sure. Your description of the tart makes me want to try making it myself. Hoping I could soon. It’s a plus to know that I can make the tart shells in advance and store them for later.
If I do get a chance to make them, I will be sure to let you know.
Hope to see your entry for Cook with Us #2. We’re going for 3-ingredient dishes next.
Hey @offoodandart, thank you so much for your valued comments, much appreciated :)
I do hope you get to make the pastry cases some time, make sure they're baked well so they're nice and crispy!
Got my thinking cap on for the next challenge:)
Thanks for this great contest!