Ah, the smell of home-cooked food. Is there anything better? Of course, as South Africans, we highly doubt there is! If we had to ask you what home-cooked meal you are thinking of, we are sure there’ll be many different answers. This is especially true for all the people of our rainbow nation, with so many of us coming from diverse cultural backgrounds – from Cape Malay to French Huguenot and a little bit of everything else in between. For example – braaivleis, curries, chakalaka, shisan yama, koeksisters, and our personal favourite, the decadent, creamy milktart, or melktert. This iconic South African dessert is the base for Tant Sannie se Melktert Cream liqueur.
Food is all about stories.
Stories behind traditions, stories behind recipes, even the stories behind the ingredients. Food and drink are cultural storytellers, and similarly, Tant Sannie se Melktert Cream liqueur has a story to tell all on its own. Picture the windswept, arid karoo land, the home of Tant Sannie se Melktert Cream liqueur. This is where Tant’ Sannie used fresh milk in her secret milktart recipe, resulting in one of the most decadent milktarts in the country. Then, Oom Dawie had a brainwave and added a splash of liquor from his special decanter; it transformed Tant’ Sannie se melktert into something spectacular.
Food heritage is important.
It matters to us what we eat, when we eat and how we eat it. In fact, the story of food allows us to construct different kinds of historical narratives. Moreover, food history provides an alternative window to look through when it comes to social, environmental and economic history. Who would’ve thought! Part of our South African heritage is our array of cuisine. Milktart originated in the 17th century. That’s a long time ago. Since then, people have passed down and changed the original recipe quite a bit – with the people of SA putting their unique stamp on the original.
Heritage cooking means embracing and highlighting a culture through food. They’re historical, family recipes that we pass down from generation to generation, just like the variety and variations of the humble milktart. For some, they’re made-from-scratch recipes that use simple, whole ingredients and traditional, old-fashioned techniques and tools. They’re recipes rich in both flavour and history. And it’s a way of cooking that we expect to trend throughout 2022.
After 2020, we all needed hugs! Heritage cooking is similar to a warm hug, a familiar feeling – sitting down around the dinner table with friends and family, connecting with our roots and filling up our tummies. After dinner, drinks idea? Well, we have one: Tant Sannie se Melktert Cream liqueur. Serve it on ice, over ice cream or as a shot. Any way you choose to drink it, it will give you the feeling of nostalgia through its milktart flavours we all know and love.
Milk tart is omnipresent in South Africa, and indeed, it appears at almost every bazaar, bake sale, supermarket and bakery. In fact, every South African food blogger’s blog has undoubtedly featured it at some point!
Milktart consists of the following components:
The crust
Traditionally, the crust consisted of short-crust pastry. Certain recipes require the custard to be baked in the crust, and others call for the custard to be prepared in advance and then placed in the crust and chilled before serving.
The custard filling
The large proportion of milk in the filling is evidence that melktert was introduced to us by the Dutch dairy farmers who settled at the Cape of Good Hope in the middle of the century. The custard filling is made from milk, sugar and eggs, thickened with flour or cornflour. Cinnamon could be used to infuse the milk with flavour during preparation. The filling can vary in consistency from firm to wobbly – it’s up to you!
The topping
It’s not milktart without a sprinkling of cinnamon! We suggest doing the same with your glass of instant classic Tant Sannie se Melktert Cream liqueur.
What’s more comforting than the combination of sweet milk custard, crisp pastry and hints of cinnamon spice? Sharing these flavours with friends and doing it in an instant!
Serve up some Tant Sannie se Melktert Cream liqueur, and enjoy the familiar flavours of milktart in a glassWhat’s more,