Peppermint Crisp tart

A Peppermint Crisp tart is an incredibly rich and flavoursome tart, bad for strict diets, but well-loved by many generations of South Africans.

The traditional recipe is based on typical South African ingredients, that may be hard to find outside South Africa, but a Peppermint Crisp tart can be made with alternative, local ingredients.

Ingredients

These are the South African ingredients. For ingredients that are available in New Zealand supermarkets, please refer to the notes about ingredients below.

  • 2 x 200 gram packets of Tennis biscuits
  • 2 x Orley Whip non-dairy whip
  • 2 x 397gram tins caramelised condensed milk
  • 4 x 49 gram bars of Nestle Peppermint Crisp Chocolate, grated but not too finely.

Method

  1. Whip the Orley Whip or cream until firm.
  2. Add caramel condensed milk and half the grated chocolate and stir in gently. Do not beat it again, as this will cause the cream to become runny and prevent it from setting properly.
  3. Layer biscuits in large rectangular dish (300 mm x 200 mm x 800 mm deep) and spread half of the mixture over the biscuit layer.
  4. Sprinkle with grated chocolate, reserve enough chocolate for the final topping. The chocolate should not be grated too finely: chunky bits of Peppermint Crisp will make it look even more appetizing.
  5. Repeat with a second layer of biscuit and caramel mixture, and top with the remaining grated chocolate.
  6. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours to allow the ingredients to chill and set.

Notes

Don't despair if you can't find the exact ingredients called for in this recipe. There are many ways to make a peppermint crisp tart, and you can make a decent one by substituting.

Orley Whip: in New Zealand, substitute with two 284 gram tins of chilled "Reduced Cream", or simply 500 ml to 600 ml whipped full cream. Note that if you use fresh cream, the tart will not last as long in the fridge.

Try Elmlea half-dairy cream if you live in the UK, or Cool Whip if you live in the USA.

Peppermint Crisp: this is a South African chocolate, manufactured by Nestle South-Africa. Its crisp mint cracknel coated in milk chocolate makes it a unique ingredient, and omitting it will not do the Peppermint Crisp tart justice.

Peppermint Crisp chocolates are usually available on the South African shelf in the International section of larger supermarkets. Shops that sell South African products should also have them in stock. They are fairly pricey, so you may want to halve the recipe and use less Peppermint Crisp chocolate.

Tennis biscuits: These are thin square coconut biscuits, made by by Bakers South-Africa. If Tennis biscuits are unavailable, substitute it with Krispies Coconut biscuits made by Griffin's or Malt O Milk biscuits made by Arnotts. If you use Krispies biscuits, you'll have to break some of them to fill the gaps between the rounded biscuits when you layer them.

Caramelised condensed milk: To make the caramelised condensed milk, place the unopened cans in a saucepan filled with boiling water and simmer for three hours. Warning: Allow to cool completely before opening the tin.