South African Milk Tart (Melktert)

I made these lovely tarts the other day. They are all gone because we ate them up faster than I want to admit. They were absolutely delicious.

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that I think I have found a new favorite dessert.

They were so simple to make as well. Just a basic crust that ended up tasting like a very light sugar cookie. And the custard part was creamy, but not too heavy. The custard balanced out with the sweet of the sugar and it was amazing.

There are many variations on this recipe since it's a traditional South African recipe. My only complaint about this recipe is that the crust came out a bit tough and I would have liked it to be a little softer. Maybe just a few minutes less cooking next time.

But as far as this recipe goes, it's for sure a keeper.

Chocolate Berry Tart

It's been a while and I have missed baking very, very much. Between moving to a new house and then being quite sick for a few weeks I finally had the chance to break in my new kitchen.

(Isn't it lovely?)

I decided to try a bold new recipe. It's both vegan AND gluten-free. And it came out rather tasty if I do say so myself.

I really need to stop taking pictures with my camera phone and get my actual camera out (since I finally found my charger). The colors aren't quite right on this picture. The berries actually made the tart a brilliant purple color.

Here is the recipe if you want to attempt it yourself (courtesy of The Post Punk Kitchen)

Like I said, I made it gluten-free. Instead of regular flour I used some gluten-free all-purpose flour mixed with some xanthan gum. Baking gluten-free really isn't that hard and it makes me want to experiment more even though I'm not really gluten intolerant. I like challenges I guess. And challenges that taste good in the end are even better.



On a side note, I also tried my hand at making homemade yogurt on Saturday. After doing some research online I found you can make it in a crockpot. It came out pretty good. It was a little thinner than I remember it being when I was younger and my mom would make it but it tasted good. I even made some frozen yogurt with it yesterday too.


Next time I'll probably add more of the agar-agar powder to thicken it (I added a little this time but I guess not enough to do much).


I have visions of making peach frozen yogurt this summer. I can't wait.