Dr Mobeus
Treacle Tart
Treacle tart is the quintessential British school-dinner pudding, and it remains one of the cheapest desserts it is possible to make. The filling is essentially golden syrup thickened with breadcrumbs, which means a tin of syrup and the end of a loaf feed eight people for around £2.55, or 32p a slice.
The lemon does quiet but important work, cutting through the sweetness so the tart tastes balanced rather than sugary. Fresh breadcrumbs from any white loaf work perfectly here, and blitzing the crusts nobody eats is the whole point of the recipe.
Ready-rolled shortcrust keeps this easy enough for a weeknight, though a batch of homemade shortcrust from flour and butter brings the cost down further. The tart slices cleanly whether you serve it warm or cold, and a jug of custard is all the dressing it needs.
Treacle Tart
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/Gas 5. Line a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin with the pastry, trim the overhang, prick the base all over with a fork and chill for 15 minutes.
- Line the pastry case with baking paper and baking beans, then blind bake for 12 minutes. Remove the paper and beans, brush the base with a little beaten egg and bake for another 5 minutes until the base looks dry.
- Gently warm the golden syrup in a saucepan over a low heat until loose, but do not let it boil. Off the heat, stir in the breadcrumbs, the lemon zest and juice, the ginger if using and half the beaten egg.
- Pour the filling into the pastry case and bake for 20-25 minutes until just set with a slight wobble in the middle.
- Cool the tart completely in the tin on a wire rack, because the filling firms as it stands. Serve in slices with custard, cream or ice cream.
Tips and Variations
Warm the syrup gently rather than boiling it, or the filling can turn stringy. The filling stays slightly wobbly when it comes out of the oven but sets firm as it cools, so trust the chill time. For a deeper flavour, swap a spoonful of the golden syrup for black treacle. Breadcrumbs from a slightly stale white loaf are ideal, and a custard jug on the table turns this into a proper Sunday pudding for pennies.
Egg Kedgeree
