Naartjie-and-cardamom milk tart with candied citrus peel

To make the milk tart, preheat the oven to 180°C. Mix the coconut, egg whites, sugar and grapefruit zest in a bowl. Use to line a 27 cm x 5 cm deep pie dish. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp and set. Reduce the oven’s temperature to 160°C.

To make the filling, bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan over a medium heat. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until creamy. Add the flour, cornflour and salt and mix.

Slowly add the warm milk while whisking, taking care not to add too much at a time as this could scramble the eggs. Once all the milk is incorporated, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and return to the heat.

Cook, stirring continually, until the mixture thickens. Once the filling coats the back of the spoon, remove from the heat and add the butter, vanilla seeds, cardamom and naartjie zest. Stir until the butter has melted and is incorporated into the filling.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold into the batter. Spoon the batter into the coconut crust and bake for 20 minutes. Serve with the candied citrus peel.

To make the candied citrus peel, bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the citrus fruit. Remove the pith from the skin by scraping it with a teaspoon. Boil the peel for 5 minutes or until it turns translucent. In another saucepan, heat the sugar and water over a medium heat. Once all the sugar has dissolved, add the citrus peel and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from the sugar syrup, drain on a wire rack and dust with extra sugar.

Cook’s note: Serve the tart with the candied peel, shaved dark and white chocolate and Grand Marnier for a decadent dessert spread.

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