Treacle tart is a great way to turn a bread crust into a treat. I made mine with a crust each of Danish rye and wholemeal spelt sourdough, and it was incredibly rich and flavourful.
Treacle tart
Put 200g plain flour and 100g chilled, diced salted butter in a large bowl, then rub with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in 50g sugar (I used soft brown), then mix in a beaten egg and knead lightly until the pastry comes together (add a splash of cold water to help, if necessary). Put the dough in a tub, cover and chill for about half an hour.
Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/gas 6½, and grease a 20cm tart case. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use it to line the case, pressing it into the corners; trim off any excess, but leave the sides to sit proud of the tart case. Prick the tart base all over with a fork, line with baking paper and fill with baking beans if you have them. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and paper (if using) and bake for another five minutes, until golden brown.
Meanwhile, take a 130g crust of stale bread and pulse-blend into rough breadcrumbs. Gently warm 400g golden syrup in a saucepan until runny, then stir in the breadcrumbs, a beaten egg and the optional zest and juice of a quarter-lemon. Pour into the pastry case. Arrange the pastry triangles, if using, on top, then bake for 25 minutes, until the filling is set and golden brown. Remove, leave to cool for 15 minutes, then serve with yoghurt, cream, ice-cream or creme fraiche.
Treacle tart
Treacle tart is traditionally made with white flour and breadcrumbs, but I encourage you to experiment with wholegrain flours such as spelt or emmer wheat for the pastry and use stale wholemeal or sourdough bread in the filling.
Treacle tart is at the upper end of my sweetness tolerance levels, but I do enjoy a slice drowned in cream or with a tart blob of creme fraiche to counteract the sweetness. The lemon zest and juice is optional but advisable, because it, too, will help cut through the sweetness.
Whenever you make a round tart case, you almost inevitably end up with offcuts. I often use them to make biscuits, but on this occasion I used them to decorate the top of the tart with a geometric pattern.
To ensure you get a nice shortcrust pastry, do not over-knead it; the moment it comes together into a dough it’s ready to rest and chill. And don’t worry if it’s flaky when you roll it out – that’s a good sign, and means the pastry will have a nice, crumbly texture once cooked. Simply patch up any holes in the tart case with some of the offcuts.
I have a stash of dried chickpeas that I keep in a jar for blind baking, and that have been used and reused time and again. If you don’t have any dried beans or blind baking beads, however, they aren’t essential. As long as you prick the pastry base thoroughly and all the way through, it shouldn’t puff up too much.
Serves 8
For the pastry
200g plain flour – I used wholemeal spelt, but white or any other grain will work here
100g salted butter, diced and chilled
50g sugar – I used soft brown
1 egg, beaten
To make the tart
400g shortcrust pastry (store-bought or homemade – see above and method)
130g breadcrumbs – I used wholemeal sourdough
400g golden syrup
1 egg, beaten
Juice and finely grated zestof ¼ lemon (optional)
Yoghurt, ice-cream, cream or creme fraiche, to serve
To make the pastry, put the flour and chilled diced butter in a large bowl and rub them together with your fingertips until they resemble breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, then mix in the egg and lightly knead the dough just until it comes together; if need be, add a splash of cold water to help it along.
(To make the pastry with a food processor, pulse-blend the flour and butter until they resemble breadcrumbs, then blend in the sugar. Pulse-blend the beaten egg into the mixture until it starts to come together, then finish by gently kneading the mixture in the bowl.)
Put the dough in a tub, cover and chill for about half an hour.
Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½, and grease a 20cm tart case. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface, then use it to line the tart case, pressing it right into the corners. Trim off and remove any excess, but leave the sides to sit proud of the tart case. If you have surplus pastry, re-roll it, cut it into small triangles and put to one side.
Prick the tart base all over with a fork and, if you have them, line it with baking paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and paper (if using) and bake for another five minutes, until golden brown.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Pulse-blend a 130g crust of stale bread to rough breadcrumbs. Gently warm the golden syrup in a saucepan until runny (do not let it come to a boil), then stir in the breadcrumbs, beaten egg and optional lemon zest and juice. Pour the syrup mix into the pastry case, then arrange the reserved pastry triangles on top and bake for 25 minutes, until the filling is set and golden brown.
Remove and leave to cool for 15 minutes, then serve with yoghurt, cream, ice-cream or creme fraiche.
