This is a combination of a few different Milk Tart recipes I came across. Usually Milk Tart tends to be made with a puff pastry base, but I prefer to make it with a short-crust pastry base. The filling is a lovely, creamy, softly spiced custard, which is nice and light due to the addition of egg whites. The use of cardamom along with cinnamon, adds a subtle twist to the marvelous flavour. This light and very moreish dessert is a definite winner!
Ingredients
Pastry
180 g flour
90 g butter
2 level Tablespoons castor sugar
1 egg
1 Tablespoon cold water
Filling
625 ml milk (I use full cream)
1 stick cinnamon
1 cardamom pod
60 ml (or 4 heaped Tablespoons) flour
75 ml (or 5 Tablespoons) white sugar
pinch salt
25 ml butter
3 eggs, separated
2 ml vanilla essence
ground cinnamon mixed with a little sugar
To make the pastry, sift flour onto a clean cold surface. Make a hole in the middle and in it add the butter, sugar and egg. Using fingers of one hand, work these three ingredients together until blended. Draw in the flour with a palette knife and continue working lightly, adding a few drops of cold water as necessary to form a smooth dough. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.
After the dough has chilled sufficiently, place on a lightly floured surface, and roll out to fit a 23cm pie dish. Always roll from the center of the pastry outwards. Fold the dough over your rolling pin and gently transfer to the pie dish. Trim any overhanging pastry to the edge of the dish and use for other tasty treats. Cover the base with a circle of greaseproof paper and weight with dried beans. Bake at 180 C for 10 minutes. Then remove paper and beans.
To make the filling, scald 500 ml milk along with the cinnamon stick and cardamom pod in a heavy-based saucepan. Mix flour, sugar and salt to a paste with the remaining 125 ml milk. Stir in the hot milk, then return to the saucepan and cook until thick, over a low heat, stirring constantly. When thick and smooth, remove from the heat and add the butter. Leave to cool. Remove cinnamon stick and cardamom pod and then beat in the egg yolks, using a wooden spoon. Add vanilla essence. Whisk egg whites and fold in.
Pour the filling into the pastry shell and bake in a 180 C oven for 25 to 30 minutes, you may feel you need an extra 5 minutes, depending on your oven. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar.
Serves 8-10.
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