Ingredients
Puff pastry
42g cake flour
50ml cornflour
100ml sugar
1ml salt
675ml milk
2 eggs
7ml vanilla essence
4 drops almond essence
2 drops yellow food colouring
½ml cream of tartar
10ml butter
2 cinnamon sticks
Instructions
Cut the pastry 10 mm wider than the pan (plate), because it can shrink slightly. Line the pan. Measure the edge of the pan and cut another strip to fit. Brush a little hot water on the strip (not all the way to the edges, otherwise it doesn’t rise well) and press it onto the edge. (Some people put the strip under the other pastry – fine too.)
Brush the bottom with lightly beaten egg whites. Keep the tart dish in the fridge until required.
Put the cake flour, cornflour, half the sugar, salt and 125ml milk in a medium-sized mixing bowl and mix until smooth. Set aside.
Separate the two eggs into egg yolks and whites. Put the egg yolks, 25ml sugar, food colouring, almond essence and vanilla essence in a smaller mixing bowl and mix well. Set aside.
Put the egg whites, cream of tartar and remaining sugar in another medium-sized mixing bowl and set aside. Heat your oven to 260°C. The oven rack should be in the second slot from the bottom.
Put the remainder of the milk, the butter and cinnamon sticks in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Turn off the heat. Add the hot milk to the flour-and-milk mixture and stir until smooth. Pour back into the saucepan and put it on the switched off plate. Stir the milk mixture in the saucepan until thick – it should only make 1 or 2 bubbles as it boils.
Pour milk mixture back into mixing bowl. Remove cinnamon. Stir in the egg yolk mixture. (In the meantime, someone must have beaten the egg white mixture until it’s just stiff; not too much, otherwise it’s dry.) Fold the egg white mixture in to the milk mixture.
Pour the filing into your lined pan, sprinkle with fine cinnamon if you like and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 200°C and bake for another 20 minutes. If the tart gets too brown, lightly put a piece of aluminum foil on top with the shiny side up. Serve lukewarm.
Serves: 6
Cooks in: 60 minutes
Difficulty: Tricky
Recipe from Overhex Winery & Bistro Chef Christal Meiring
Pairs well with Survivor Chenin Blanc.
