Traditional Milk Tart + hacks

What’s better than a slice of creamy, cinnamon-dusted goodness?

Serves: 6-8
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes, plus 2 – 3 hours to set

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

For the Filling:

For the crust: Preheat the oven to 180°C.
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and mix well.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Mix until a soft dough forms.
Press the dough into a greased 23cm tart tin or pie dish, ensuring an even layer along the base and sides.
Prick the base with a fork and bake for 12–15 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow to cool.
For the filling: In a saucepan, heat the milk with the cinnamon stick and butter until just below boiling point.
Remove the cinnamon stick. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cornstarch, and eggs to form a smooth paste.
Slowly add some of the warm milk to the egg mixture, whisking continuously to temper the eggs.
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla essence.
Pour the hot custard into the cooled tart shell.
Allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours to set.
Dust generously with ground cinnamon before serving.

To serve:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Grease a muffin tin with cooking spray.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the
pastry, use a round cookie cutter and cut out circles.
Press the pastry circles into the greased muffin pan, prick hole at the base using the fork Bake for minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow it to cool.
In a large microwaveable bowl, add milk powder and water and whisk until dissolved then add in condensed milk, eggs, corn flour and whisk until combined.
Microwave the mixture for 12 – 15 minutes, whisking every 3 – 4 minutes, once the thickened allow it to cool for 15 minutes.
Transfer the filling to a piping bag, and pipe into the pastry cases.
Dust with cinnamon and allow it to set in the fridge for 2 hours.

Equipment:

Spoon the custard into the pastry shells, top with cinnamon sugar and then use a kitchen torch held a few centimeters above the sugar, moving the flame in a circular motion until the sugar melts and turns a light golden brown.