Mandarin Milk Tart (South African Mandarin Melktert)

This South African twist on a custard tart is made with a sweet milk filling and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

3 cups jersey milk or regular milk (750 mL)
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
1 cinnamon quill
1 mandarin
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. cornflour
2 Tbsp. cake flour
½ cup caster sugar (110 g)

Garnish:
ground cinnamon
confectioners' sugar

Pastry:
1¼ cups cake flour (185 g)
¼ cup caster sugar (55 g)
unsalted butter, cold, chopped (100 g)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. milk
1 mandarin, finely grated zest

Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4).

For the Pastry:
Place flour, sugar and butter in a food processor and whiz until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk, milk and zest, then whiz until mixture comes together. Shape into a disc, enclose in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface until 4 mm thick, then use to line a greased 36x11 cm fluted tart pan. Freeze tart shell for 5 minutes. Prick base with a fork, line pastry with baking paper and rice or pastry weights, then bake for 20 minutes. Remove rice and baking paper, brush with beaten egg and bake for 5-10 minutes until pastry is golden.

Make the Filling:
Place milk, vanilla pod and seeds and cinnamon in a saucepan over medium heat. Peel mandarin, reserving the fruit to serve, and add peel to the pan. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat and infuse for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile whisk egg, flours and caster sugar to combine. Strain milk over egg mixture, whisking constantly, then return to the pan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and pour into pastry shell.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until set. Cool slightly.

Sprinkle the tart with cinnamon and icing sugar. Slice the reserved mandarin and use to garnish the tart, then serve.

Makes 8 servings.