Treacle Tart

I had always thought that my most favourite of all pies was Pecan Pie . . . I have been known in my younger years to buy a Frozen Mrs Smith's Pecan Pie and eat the whole dang thing all by myself!! (The word gluttony comes to mind.)



But then again, I am mighty partial to Lemon Meringue and Apple as well . . .



Actually if I am being honest . . . and I try to be . . . I just plain love pie. You put it into a crust and I am there!



One of the tarts I really love over here is the old fashioned Treacle Tart, a traditonal English tart filled with a mixture of golden syrup, breadcrumbs, lemon and eggs. Oh my . . . but it is some delish!



Golden syrup itself is delish . . . think of a thick amber coloured syrup . . . sweet and stick, with an almost caramel like flavour . . . it's really quite addictive! I love it on my oatmeal in the morning, and have been known to just take a spoonful and sit there greedly slurping it like a sticky runny lollipop. (There is that gluttony word again!)



From Wikepedia:

Treacle tart is featured in the Harry Potter books, and is known to be Harry's favorite food. He is often depicted as eating the dessert during various Hogwarts feasts, and the aroma of the dessert features prominently in "the most powerful love potion in the world" for Harry in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, which gives off the combined smell of each individual's favorite scents.

This dessert is also featured in the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The childcatcher, in an attempt to lure out the children from the basement, calls out that he is giving away free sweets. His mention of free treacle tarts is the selling point for the boy, convincing him to be lured out into the street.

"Treacle tart" is also Cockney rhyming slang for "sweetheart".



Now tell me . . . how could you not absolutely love it after all that???



Us gluttonous Rayner's like ours with cream spooned over top. Why not!



*Treacle Tart*
serves 8
Printable Recipe

Adapted from a recipe I found on Good Food by Lulu Grimes. Sticky sweet and oh so moreish.

short crust pastry to line a 9 inch tart tin
500g of golden syrup ( a scant cup and a half)
125g of fresh breadcrumbs (a generous 2 cups)
the juice and zest of one lemon
2 large free range eggs
a pinch of fine sea salt

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Roll the pastry out between two sheets of cling film to a circle large enough to fill your tart tin with a bit of overhang. Remove the top piece of cling film and carefully invert it over the tin, gently easing it into the corners with your knuckles, trying not to stretch it. Leave the overhang. Line with greaseproof paper and baking beans and blind bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pastry looks set and dried. Lift out the paper and baking beans. Take a rolling pin and roll it over the edge of the tart tin to trim of the overhang of pastry neatly. Return the tart tin to the oven for a few minutes to dry the pastry out further. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 160*C/32*F/ gas mark3.

Mix together the syrup, breadcrumbs, lemon juice and eggs, along with a pinch of fine sea salt. Pour this mixture into the tart base and bake for a further 50 minutes, until the filling has lightly set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before cutting into wedges to serve.

Three variations:

1. Stir 1 finely chopped ball of ginger and 1 tsp ground ginger into the filling before baking.

2. For a dark treacle tart, use 400g golden syrup and 100g black treacle in the filling.

3. To add a touch of luxury and to result in a softer set, stir 2-4 tbsp double cream into the filling before baking.