It’s not inside, it’s onnnnnnn top!
~ Cremora TV advert ~
If you are South African, you might have grown up watching a TV advert for non-dairy creamer called Cremora. Husband is preparing his coffee and searches the whole fridge, only to shout out to Wife “Anne, there’s no Cremora in the refrigerator!” and she calls back: “It’s not inside, it’s on top!” Many people in South Africa has at some point said “It’s not inside, it’s onnnnn top!” – it’s such a handy phrase. And Cremora is a very handy ingredient. In the days before long-life milk, people took Cremora on hikes and holidays instead of fresh milk. Later it just became a nice add-in to make your coffee creamy and extra tasty. But I have spent the last decade ignoring recipes for Cremora Tart which I have seen many times in magazines and on social media. To my disadvantage, unfortunately!
Made in the USA
About a year ago I started following a social media account called Emmymade on Facebook. The American creator, Emmy Cho, makes videos about things food-related. The first video I watched was her trying 40-year old military ration packs. Emmy has a fantastic style and tastes everything she makes. She likes trying out food and recipes from other parts of the world. I am amazed by how brave she is! She has tried out stinky Noni fruit, weird concoctions like Cotton Candy Mac & Cheese and delicacies like Mopane worms! I am a bit embarrassed that it took Emmy trying out our own South African Cremora Tart to open my eyes to this recipe! But I am glad I tried it and I will never pull my nose up to it again!
Old-fashioned is just right!
Emmy’s video of how you make Cremora Tart is definitely worth the watch. And the Cremora Tart is delicious to eat! It is an old fashioned fridge tart type dessert. But as you know from my Retro Custard recipe, I am not scared of old fashioned food! The best part is that you can make it with pantry staples (if Cremora is something you keep in the pantry). And it is quick to make and almost impossible to flop. If you have a whisk and a fridge you can make this very attractive looking and delicious tasting tart! Cremora Tart doesn’t actually taste like Cremora, but very nearly like cheesecake. What’s not to like? Time to start buying some Cremora! And just to be clear… if you’re looking in the fridge: it’s not inside, it’s on top!
Cremora Tart
Ingredients
Biscuit Base
- 1 packet Tennis biscuits, crushed see note
- 4 tbsp butter, melted I used 6 tablespoons of butter as I like a firmer base
Filling
- 250 g Cremora Or another non-dairy creamer
- 125 ml cold water (or ½ cup)
- 1 tin condensed milk (397g or 14oz)
- 125 ml lemon juice (fresh or bottled) (or ½ cup)
Instructions
Biscuit Base
- Mix the crushed biscuits and melted butter and press down into a 22cm tart dish or spring-form tin. Refrigerate while making the filling.
Filling
- Whisk the Cremora and the cold water together until all lumps have disappeared. It starts off looking very lumpy and crumbly. Just whisk a bit more and it will become more liquid and eventually the lumps will dissappear.
- Add the condensed milk and mix well.
- Add the lemon juice incrementally and whisk well after each addition. The filling thickens the more lemon juice you add.
- Pour the filling onto the biscuit base and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.
Notes
- Tennis biscuits are very South African and give the tart that familiar, coconut taste. Feel free to use other biscuits you like though.
- I reserve about two tablespoons of the base crumbs to sprinkle on top.
- The recipe can be made with bottled lemon juice. If you have fresh lemons at hand you can juice and zest two lemons and add some zest to the tart when adding the lemon juice.
- I also added a pinch of lemon zest to the crumbs I reserved for the topping.
- Some non-dairy creamers contain casein, a milk-derived protein. It is therefore not 100% vegan, but some vegans do use non-dairy creamer as milk replacement. I have attemped to make a vegan version of this tart by using Oreo biscuits and plant butter for the crust, and replacing the normal condensed milk with condensed oat milk. This worked very well and tasted very similar to the original version.
- The internet tells me that non-dairy creamer is seen as lactose-free despite the use of casein, but you should please double check your ingredients if you are aiming for a lactose-free fridge tart. You will also have to replace the biscuits, butter and condensed milk with approved lactose-free products.
Hi, the tart tastes amazing, I left it in the fridge overnight but it is not setting, still very runny, did I have to use a heldheld whisk or an electric one to get it thicker before putting in the fridge?
Hi Tyla, I have always just used a normal balloon whisk, but I am sure trying an electrical one won’t hurt. Another suggestion is to maybe add less water when mixing the Cremora and water (maybe try only using 100ml). The water has to be cold and it has to be a non-dairy creamer, not just milk powder. If that still doesn’t work you can always try to add a little bit of lemon-flavoured jelly. Dissolve the lemon jelly powder in half a cup of hot water and let it cool down before adding. Your filling will then be very runny when pouring into the crust, but the gelatine in the jelly will help it set. Hope that helps!
Do you perhaps know for how long it Wil last in the fridge and if it can freeze and defrost successfully?
Hi Alicia
I have kept it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days without a problem if you cover it well. Regarding the freezing: I don’t know if it will successfully defrost. The tart filling is very much like no-churn ice-cream (which is usually condensed milk and whipped cream). I am thinking it will freeze very well and one could actually use it as a semifreddo-type dessert in it’s frozen form. I am not sure if it defrost well, but I will give it a try and let you know.
Funny enough I found myself on this page to find out how long I can store it in the fridge as I made a large one 2 days ago. It ended up being too big for my fridge so I had to freeze it, and we ended up not going to the event as planned so I’m stuck with a huge cremora tart. Lol. Anyway, there was some extra filling, which I put in cups and froze for my husband and I (went to the freezer to hide from the kids) and it defrosts amazingly fast. Comes out soft and creamy as if just made. It even tastes great frozen, like home made ice cream (I just finiched my secret cup).
So yes, it can be frozen and it defrosts well. just not sure on how long it can be frozen.
Wow Renicia, thanks so much for your comment, I really appreciate you taking the time to help with your knowledge. I am now going to try freezing a tart specifically to try it as ice-cream!
This recipe. For how many people would you say? And how big baking tray do I need?
If you use a standard size round pie dish (22cm or 9 inces in diameter) as mentioned in the recipe, you can cut 8 large or 12 smaller wegdes of tart. I have also made it in a square baking dish (24cm x 24cm) or a rectangular one (approximately 15cm x 30cm). If using a square or rectangular dish, you can cut blocks of tart rather than wedges and you will probably also get 8 large or 12 smaller blocks.
hi should it have a sweet or sour tast
It is quite sweet with a tart after taste. Similar to a lemon merangue pie.
could I add crushed pineapple to this mixture
Hi Farah
I have definitely seen recipes for Pineapple Cremora tart. Personally I find it too sweet, but make the recipe as indicated. Once you have thickened the Cremora and water mixture with the lemon juice, add a tin of drained, crushed pineapple and mix. Pour into the base and let set as normal. I haven’t tried it myself, but it should work if you drain the pineapple well. Please let me know if it works.
Can I use ice cold pouring cream instead of water?
I haven’t tried using cream, so I can’t say what the implications would be if you did. If I had to guess I would say in this recipe the water is for reconstituting the non-dairy creamer into a liquid, so replacing it with cream would just enrich it. The tart is already very rich and creamy due to the condensed milk and the non-dairy creamer, so it is not necessary to enrich it with cream.
My other concern is that the lemon juice could cause the cream to curdle if just added instead of water. You could experiment with replacing the non-dairy creamer and water mixture with cream and adding lemon juice slowly while whisking it (acid should cause dairy to thicken), but I don’t know if it will thicken and set enough for the tart to hold up.
I love this recipe! as long as you keep your acid (juice) to condensed milk ratio about the same, you can do all kinds of variations. My thought was that it might be runny because in the US, condensed milk tins are 14 oz. The one recipe that I saw referencing volume instead of just ‘1 tin’ called for 8 oz, not 14 oz. to be safe, you can increase the amount of juice to tighten it up, or use the gelatin suggestion.
Making this for the second time today. Both times I followed recipe to the dot and it was delicious!!
Added sliced canned peaches to garnish 😋😋
This recipe is a keeper.
Thanks Precious, the canned peaches sounds like a delicious idea!
Tried this recipe, made this tart for the first time and it was a hit! My family loved it. Came out perfect.
Left it overnight to set, I’m doing another one 3 weeks later and adding strawberries. Thank you for the recipe!
Came out perfectly, just like I used to have growing up!