The Kombuis
Melktert Slices
Creamy, cinnamon-dusted melktert in slice form. Light as a cloud, set in a crumb crust and finished with cinnamon sugar. Do not skip the almond essence. It's the whole point.
Melktert is one of the oldest recipes in South African food culture, brought to the Cape by Dutch settlers in the 1600s and made the nation's own over four centuries of Sunday lunches, school fundraisers and church bazaars. Every ouma had her version. Every family argues about whose was best. The debate between baked and stovetop melktert alone could fill an afternoon. This is Ina Paarman's baked version, and it's a good one. A slice of this in Dubai on a Sunday afternoon is about as close to home as it gets.
Ingredients
- 2 medium buttermilk rusks, crumbed (original: Ina Paarman's buttermilk rusks; sub: 4 Tennis biscuits, crumbed, or any plain digestive biscuit available at Spinneys or Carrefour)
- 30 ml butter, softened
- 750 ml full cream milk
- 60 ml butter
- 1 cinnamon stick, broken into splinters
- 3 extra-large eggs, separated
- 120 g (1 cup) vanilla cake mix (original: Ina Paarman's Vanilla Cake Mix, unavailable in UAE; sub: 100 g plain flour + 20 g icing sugar + 1 tsp baking powder, sifted together)
- 45 ml sugar
- 10 ml almond essence (available in the baking aisle at Spinneys and Carrefour)
- 15 ml Sugar
- 2.5 ml ground cinnamon
Method
- Butter a 20 x 20 cm square baking tin or ovenproof dish with the softened butter. Press the biscuit crumbs all over the base and sides. Freeze for 30 minutes.
- Heat the milk, butter and cinnamon stick in a saucepan until just boiling. Remove from heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes, then remove the cinnamon splinters.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Position the rack one slot below the middle.
- Separate the eggs. Whisk the yolks in a bowl, then slowly add a ladleful of the warm milk while whisking to temper.
- Return the egg-milk mixture to the saucepan. Whisk in the cake mix (or flour mixture) and sugar.
- Add the almond essence.
- Stir over medium heat with a whisk until the mixture just begins to thicken on the bottom of the pot. Remove from heat and keep stirring off the heat until the consistency is like thick yoghurt. Beat out any lumps.
- Leave to cool slightly.
- Whip the egg whites to soft peak stage.
- Stir one third of the egg whites into the milk tart mixture with the whisk, then gently fold in the remaining whites by hand.
- Pour into the prepared dish. Mix the cinnamon sugar and sift evenly over the top.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until puffed and golden.
- Switch off the oven, leave the door slightly ajar, and rest the tart inside for 15 minutes. It will deflate. That's normal.
- Cool completely before slicing.
Notes
Method
Rusk lining
- Butter a 20 x 20 cm square tin with softened butter. Press crumbs all over the base and sides. Freeze for 30 minutes.
Milk tart
- Heat the milk, butter and cinnamon stick until just boiling. Remove from heat, infuse for 20 minutes, then remove cinnamon.
- Preheat oven to 180°C, rack one slot below middle.
- Whisk yolks in a bowl. Slowly add a ladleful of warm milk while whisking to temper.
- Return to the saucepan. Whisk in the cake mix (or flour mixture) and sugar.
- Add the almond essence.
- Stir over medium heat until the mixture just begins to thicken. Remove from heat, keep stirring off the heat until it resembles thick yoghurt. Beat out any lumps.
- Cool slightly.
- Whip egg whites to soft peaks.
- Stir one third of the whites into the mixture, then fold in the rest gently by hand.
- Pour into the prepared dish. Sift cinnamon sugar over the top.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until puffed and golden.
- Switch oven off, door ajar, rest for 15 minutes. It will deflate.
- Cool fully before slicing.
Do not skip the almond essence. It is the secret ingredient.