Ice cream Sundays #2: Heritage day special – Milktart ice cream

This Friday it is National Braai day and more importantly Heritage day. On the 24th of September we as South Africans celebrate the cultural wealth of our nation. And what better way to celebrate than with something quintessentially South African – Melktert/Milktart. But in this case Milktart ice cream.

Milktart is the South African version of Portuguese Custard tarts (Pasteis de Nata). Melktert consists of a sweet pastry crust containing a custard filling made from milk, flour, sugar and eggs. The tart is dusted with ground cinnamon. The ratio of milk to eggs is higher than in a traditional Portuguese custard tart or Chinese egg tart, resulting in a lighter texture and a stronger milk flavour.

This milktart ice cream is my foodie ode to the humble melktert.

You will need:

250 ml full cream milk (I used Woolworths’ Jersey High Fat Fresh milk to try and replicate the creamy custard of a traditional milktart) 

100 gr caster sugar

2 medium eggs

450 ml whipping cream

2 cinnamon sticks 

2-3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon (depending on how much you like cinnamon) 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

70-100 gr Tennis biscuits (broken into smaller pieces) 

 

This is how:

1. Gently heat the milk and cinnamon sticks in a small saucepan until hot, but not boiling.
2. Meanwhile lightly beat the eggs and sugar in a jug/bowl using a hand whisk.
3. Very slowly pour the hot milk down the side of the jug into the egg and sugar mixture, while stirring.
4. Now pour the mixture in the saucepan, add the ground cinnamon and heat gently, without boiling, stirring constantly until the custard thickens slightly and coats the back of the spoon.
5. Allow the mixture to cool at room temperature, then add the unwhipped cream and vanilla extract. Stir the mixture well.
6. Place the mixture in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours before preparing in your ice cream maker.
7. When halfway through the churning process start adding the broken pieces of biscuit. Alternatively you can stir the biscuits into the churned ice cream before freezing.