Ballito chef Ciara Lambertelli shares 3 traditional desserts with a modern twist

South Africans are known for their diversity, and while many things bring people together, like sports and entertainment, food is a unique unifier.

The lines between cultures are often fluid, resulting in new culinary experiences.

Ballito private chef, Ciara Lambertelli knows all about having a diversified heritage. As an English, Afrikaans and Italian woman, her cooking draws influences from all three cultures, resulting in an exciting and vibrant cuisine.

She shared her top three traditional desserts with us: koeksisters, malva pudding and milk tart. These dishes, made from recipes handed down through generations, are where Lambertelli truly shines.

“I love adding a modern and personal spin to the classics, creating beautiful new dishes. Taking recipes from my mom’s recipe book, which she created from her mom’s recipes, is something special,” she said.

For Lambertelli, these three desserts, offering a hearty and homely feel, are perfect for celebrating Heritage Day.

After enjoying South Africa’s famous braai, it’s time for dessert.

1. Milk Tart (Melktert)

South Africans love a classic milk tart, or melktert in Afrikaans, so much that February 27 is celebrated as National Milk Tart Day.
This dessert, with its homemade biscuit shell and milky filling, is said to have originated from the Dutch in the 1600s.
Since then, many variations have emerged, but the comforting “home” feel remains.

“The only milk tart I love is the one made from my mom’s recipe,” said Lambertelli.

Crust:

• 120g salted butter, softened (72 cup)
• 75ml castor sugar (5 tbsp)
• 15ml vegetable oil ( 1 tbsp)
• 1 large egg
• 280g cake flour (2 cups)
• 5ml baking powder (1 tsp)

Filling:

• 1l full cream milk (4 cups)
• 30ml salted butter (2 tbsp)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 125ml sugar (1/4 cup)2 large eggs
• 45ml cake flour (3 tbsp)
• 45ml cornflour (3 tbsp)
• 5ml vanilla extract (1 tsp)
• Ground cinnamon for dusting

Directions:
Preheat the oven ot 180’C and grease a 28cm diameter pie dish.
Cream together the butter and castor sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the oil and egg and beat well.
Mix in the flour and baking powder and mix it to form a soft dough. Do not overwork the dough. Press a thin layer of the dough into your prepared dish. I like a thin base and had some dough left over. Prick the bottom with a fork and bake at 180°C for 20-25 minutes until golden brown then allow to cool.
For the filing, bring the milk, butter and cinnamon stick to the boil. Mix the remaining ingredients into a smooth paste.
Once the milk mixture has come to a boil, cool for a minute then remove the cinnamon stick and pour slowly into the smooth paste, whisking constantly to avoid curdling.
Strain this mixture back into the pot and return to a medium heat.
Stir constantly until the mixture thickens then allow to cool to room temperature before pouring into the baked pie crust.
Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and refrigerate for about 3 hours until set.

2. Malva Pudding

This dessert is perfect for cold days.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, its name comes from an Afrikaner sweet, the malvalekker, made with marshmallow extract, as the pudding’s texture is similar to that of a marshmallow.
Made with apricot jam, this spongy dessert is usually served with warm or cold custard.

“Warm malva pudding with vanilla bean custard is an absolute gem,” said Lambertelli.

Malva pudding recipe

Pudding:

• 1 tbsp butter room temperature
• 1cup brown sugar
• 4 tbsp apricot jam
• 1 large egg
• 1cup milk
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1cup all-purpose flour
• 1tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp salt

Sauce:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 125 ml cream
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp water

Pudding method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Ovens are temperamental, so if you know yours needs a bit more (or less) of a push, feel free to adjust.
In a large mixing bowl add your first four ingredients butter, sugar, jam and egg. Beat until it lightens and gets a bit fluffier. If you only have a fork, the fluffy part isn’t make-or-break. In a large measuring cup or a bowl, add milk, then vinegar and vanilla essence. Whisk lightly.
In another measuring cup/bowl, add bicarb to flour and give it a quick stir.
Alternating between the milk mixture and the flour, add to the large mixing bowl and mix well as you go along.
Pour into a lightly greased oven-proof dish (ours was 30x15cm, but it could definitely have been a bit smaller).
Bake for 45 minutes, or until a knife comes out with spongy crumbs stuck to it (it’s not likely to come out clean) rather than uncooked batter. The pudding will stay in its mould and rest for a bit once the sauce is poured over.

Sauce method:
Add all sauce ingredients together in a pot and bring to a boil.
Let it simmer, stirring constantly, for three minutes. This will give the sauce a richer, deeper taste.
Stab the pudding a few times with a fork to help the sauce sink in so that it doesn’t pool at the sides. Then pour the sauce over slowly, being sure you’re not leaving any part dry.

3. Koeksisters

This treat belongs in the “bad boys club”, a definite showstopper. Koeksisters evolved from the deep-fried pastries known as “koekjes” into the beloved South African koeksisters. Made from dough twisted into a braided shape and deep-fried until golden brown, these pastries are soaked in syrup while still hot, giving them a sweet and sticky glaze.

“I love adding non-traditional nutmeg and cinnamon to my dough, and orange zest into my syrup. These are always a crowd-pleaser,” Lambertelli said.

South Africans love their food, and these traditional desserts embody the warmth, heritage, and fusion of flavors that unite the nation.

Koeksisters recipe

Makes 4 dozen

Dough

• 1250g cake flour % tbsp salt
• 165ml baking powder
• 4cups milk
• 2cups water
• 5 large eggs
• 62g butter or margarine, softened oil, for deep-frying

Syrup

• 12 cups sugar
• 6 cups water
• 2/3 cups lemon juice
• 1% tbsp cream of tartar
• 1tsp caramel essence (optional)

Method

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. Whisk the milk, water and eggs together and add to the dry ingredients. Mix to form a soft dough then knead thoroughly for 10 minutes, adding a little butter or margarine in every now and then. Cover the dough with clingwrap and place in the fridge overnight.

Make the syrup by combining the sugar, water, juice, cream of tartar and caramel essence in a large pot and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Boil the syrup for 10 minutes then allow to cool to room temperature. Break off a fist-sized chunk of the dough and roll out into a long sausage on a lightly oil-greased surface, then using a rolling pin, roll out to about 10cm wide. Cut into 1cm strips.

Take each strip then roll into a sausage, twist the ends around each other to form a koeksister shape and pinch the ends closed. Heat the oil to 180C then deep-fry the koeksisters, afew at atime, turning often to brown on all sides, until golden and cooked through.

Drain from the oil and immediately plunge into the room-temperature syrup, making sure to keep the koeksisters submerged so they soak up the syrup. Drain the koeksisters from the syrup and allow to cool. To keep your koeksisters crispy, store them in the freezer. Remove them from the freezer 15 minutes before you want to serve them.

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