Whenever we visit South Africa, our daughter’s grandma, who is nicknamed Lala, makes us dikmelktert, which loosely translates from Afrikaans as “sour milk tart”. “My grandma used to make it on the farm 70 years ago,” Lala tells me, “when the lovely, creamy Jersey milk had been soured and thickened into dikmelk [thick milk]”, and it’s life-affirming to see her make it for our daughter today – a lovely, traditional dessert that’s enjoyed through the generations.
It’s similar to the classic South African milk tart, but easier to make, and makes great use of short-date pasteurised milk or soured raw milk that has thickened. (If you’re using the former, consider switching the yoghurt and milk quantities around – ie, 480g yoghurt and 150ml short-date milk – to give it a more pronounced sour flavour.) Lala’s version uses coconut butter instead of butter, is made without pastry and is topped with a dusting of desiccated coconut as well as the traditional cinnamon; to make a more substantial dish, bake the custard in a pastry case, as in the classic milk tart.
