Treacle Tart

As-Salamu Alaikum / Greetings Reader,

Today I present you with Treacle Tart: a rich and buttery short crust pastry tart shell which is first blind baked and then filled with a mixture of Golden Syrup (Us folk in the north of England know it as Treacle), bread crumbs, lemon juice (to cut just some of the sweetness) and a pinch of ground ginger and then baked again for half an hour until the mixtures thickens and is set.

I was actually surprised when I made this tart at how much the lemon flavour cuts through the sweetness and the ground ginger adds a nice warming note sitting in the background but by no stretch of the imagination can I say that this tart isn't sweet as it is by far the sweetest dessert you can eat and the ultimate kids dessert, at least it was for me when I were growing up BUT I'm sure it tasted sweeter back in the day, ah when things were far sweeter and you didn't have a care in the world about how many pounds you were gaining..... the innocence of youth!

The bread crumbs add a nice chewy texture to the tart and keep the whole thing from falling apart when you cut a slice, I used white breadcrumbs as is traditional but I'm sure you could use brown/wholemeal instead which will make the tart more chewy, but remember it's always good to chew your food it helps the digestion process and let's face it you need all the help you can get with this sugar induced coma you have on your hands.



I used my one and only tart tin for this recipe, a 23cm petal / flower shaped loose bottomed flan/tart tin which you can find on amazon here or any 23cm loose bottomened tart /  flan tin will work the same.

There isn't really a substitute for Golden Syrup, but if you can't find it where you are in the world, you can try to make your own (I've done this in the past although the taste wasn't 100% identical). I may experiment in future and use honey instead of golden syrup, I will let you know if I can make this dessert just a tad healthier, promise!

Treacle Tart

Recipe taken from James Martin's Treacle Tart

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 225g/8oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 110g/4oz unsalted butter, chilled, diced
• 1 medium free-range egg, lightly beaten

For the filling

• 450g/1lb golden syrup
• 85g/3oz fresh breadcrumbs
• generous pinch ground ginger
• 1 lemon, zest, finely grated and 2 tbsp of the juice

To serve

• clotted cream or double cream (Optional but does help cut through the sweetness)

Method

In a bowl, rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Mix in the egg with a knife, then knead on a clean, lightly dusted work surface to form a smooth dough.

Use the dough to line a 23cm/9in loose-bottomed tart tin, prick the base all over with a fork and leave to rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190C/170C (fan)/375F/Gas 5.

Line the pastry with parchment paper and weigh down with rice or ceramic baking beans.

Bake the pastry blind for 10-15 minutes, remove the paper and rice or beans and return the pastry case to the oven for a few minutes more, until light golden-brown.

For the filling, mix together the filling ingredients in a bowl and pour into the pastry case.

Return to the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold with clotted cream or double cream (optional)