Treacle Tarts are a traditional English tea treat made of a simple mixture of golden syrup and bread crumbs.
Treacle simply refers to molasses. The most famous manufacturer of treacle is Lyle’s Golden Syrup, a light treacle. It was recently declared Britain’s oldest brand, registering its trademark in 1904 and granted a Royal Warrant in 1911. The company was founded by Abram Lyle, a Scottish businessman in the sugar business. The sugar cane refining process produced a treacle-like syrup that usually went to waste, but Lyle found that it could be refined to make a preserve and sweetener in cooking. Waste not want not.
Simply Delicious Treacle Tart
Treacle Tarts are a traditional English tea treat made of a simple mixture of golden syrup and bread crumbs.
Servings 12 tarts
Ingredients
Shortcrust pastry
- 1 cup all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
- 2 tbsp. sugar (or sugar substitute)
- ½ tsp. salt
- 6 tbsp. unsalted butter cold and cut into small pieces
- 2 large egg yolks (I freeze the whites for future baking)
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 1 to 2 tbsp. cold water
Filling
- 1 1/2 cups golden syrup
- 1 large lemon finely grated zest
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
Instructions
Make the pastry
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Combine the flour, salt, sugar. Work in butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (if you must you may use a food processor). Add the egg yolks, vanilla and water until a smooth dough is formed. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill in the fridge for half an hour.
- Unwrap the chilled pastry and roll out as thin as you can (cuts the calories) to fit a 9 inch fluted pan, or you can cut into circles and press into muffin tins. Work the dough into the crevices of the pan.
- Line with tin foil, fill with baking beans, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and bake for 5 minutes.
- Use the dough trimmings to make a lattice top on the large tart if you like.
Make the Filling
- Heat the golden Syrup with the lemon. Add the ginger. Sprinkle the bread crumbs in the tart shell or distribute among the muffin tins. Pour in the syrup. Note, the syrup bubbles when cooking so the mixture should be not fill more than half way up the sides of your pan.
- Bake the larger tart for 20–30 minutes, individual sized tarts for 10 – 15 minutes.
Notes
Specialty Ingredient
There really isn't a good substitute for golden syrup to get the same result. Corn syrup is far too sweet. Luckily golden sryup is just a click away.
