Klappertaart

Ingredients

• 800 ml whole milk
• 90 g cornflour
• 160 g caster sugar, for the custard
• 80 g unsalted butter
• 5 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 0.25 tsp salt
• 400 g young coconut flesh
• 70 g raisins
• 3 tbsp dark rum
• 50 g walnuts
• 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• 5 egg whites
• 100 g caster sugar, for the meringue
• 0.25 tsp cream of tartar

Before you cook

• Soak the raisins in the rum for 20 minutes.
• Scrape the young coconut flesh into wide strips and drain it well.
• Separate the eggs, keeping the yolks and whites in separate bowls.
• Chop the walnuts roughly.
• Butter a 25 cm oval or round baking dish.
• Heat the oven to 180C.

Steps

1. Whisk the cornflour into 200 ml of the cold milk until completely smooth.
2. Pour the remaining 600 ml of milk into a heavy saucepan with the 160 g of sugar, the butter and the salt.
3. Warm the pan over medium heat, stirring, until the butter melts and the milk steams.
4. Pour in the cornflour mixture in a steady stream, whisking hard the whole time.
5. Keep whisking over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, until the custard thickens enough to hold the trail of the whisk.
6. Take the pan off the heat and let it cool for 2 minutes so it will not scramble the yolks.
7. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl, then whisk two ladles of the hot custard into them.
8. Pour the tempered yolks back into the pan and whisk them through.
9. Return the pan to low heat and cook for 2 minutes more, whisking, until glossy and thick.
10. Stir in the vanilla, the coconut strips, the rum-soaked raisins with their liquid, the walnuts and the cinnamon.
11. Pour the custard into the buttered dish and level the top with a spatula.
12. Whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar in a clean bowl until they hold soft peaks.
13. Add the 100 g of sugar a spoonful at a time, whisking, until the meringue is stiff and glossy.
14. Spoon the meringue over the custard and swirl it into peaks with the back of a spoon.
15. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meringue is set and tipped with deep gold.
16. Cool the klappertaart for at least 1 hour, then chill it before serving cold in scoops.