Passport & Plate - Treacle Tart
United Kingdom | Tuesday, March 3, 2015 | 4 photos
Ingredients
Pastry:
520g plain flour
70g icing sugar
250g chilled, cubed butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Filling:
170g brown breadcrumbs
90g unsalted butter, softened or beaten soft (which helps later)
2 large eggs
70ml double cream (you can use the rest of the pot to serve)
Around 10g fine salt
720g golden syrup
How to prepare this recipeMethod:
1. Make the pastry
- Sift the flour and icing sugar into a bowl.
- Rub in the butter until the mixture is like fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the eggs, and mix well to form a dough. Press it together (don't overwork).
- Place in cling film and chill for 30 minutes (not less, but NOT MUCH MORE or it'll be impossible to roll).
- Once chilled, roll out to 2-3mm thick. Place in tart case.
- Bake blind, 15m @ 180 fan. Remove balls/rice/lentis etc after 10m.
- Remove pastry from oven, turn oven down to 160.
2. Make the filling
- Heat the butter over a high heat until browned. Strain through a sieve into a bowl.
- Mix together the eggs, cream and salt until well combined.
- Gently heat the golden syrup until a thin liquid, slightly above blood temperature works well for me.
- Once the syrup is warm, add the strained butter to it.
- Add the syrup to the cream mixture, then stir in the bread crumbs.
3. Finishing it off
- Put the filling in the pastry case. Be brave - it does rise in the oven, but not excessively.
- Bake, 25m @ 160 AND THEN a further 20m @ 140.
The top should have formed a slight golden crust, and will be bubbling slightly. Resist the urge to eat it straight away - leave it to cool a bit, then serve.
The story behind this recipeMy treacle tart rides the twists and turns of the story of my adventure through love for England and for my English boy. To start from the very beginning takes me back to 2010 when I was still but a young tot finishing up my undergrad at the University of Toronto. Following a passion for travel, I found myself in London, UK for my last year of university to study abroad in one of the best cities on earth (okay maybe I’m a bit biased). It was there that I met the love of my life, John, in a city that will always be a part of me. We went on a whirlwind adventure from vineyards in Valpolicella to temples in Chiang Mai from the Sydney Harbour Bridge to the cliffs of Moher, living all around the globe – most recently calling England home for the past two years.
The sights and sounds of a foreign land are an exciting journey, but the tastes of a new culture are always my most memorable discoveries. I have been fortunate to travel far-off parts of the globe and uncover new cultures through my taste buds. After being introduced to such delectable cuisines such as gado-gado in Bali to sweet baklava in Istanbul – why on earth, you ask, have I chosen the supposedly less exciting flavours of Great Britain for my dish of choice? For me, as with every food experience, it is the memories that this beautifully sweet treat awakens which makes it truly special.
It’s the rainy Sunday feeling, hot tea drinking, Thames path walking, cobbled street jaunting, Borough Market browsing, Regents Park playing and beautiful accent of my boy that peppers my mind when making and even better, eating this piece of England. Now that I am back in Toronto, with my London life now a memory, this treat brings a huge smile to my face as I sit with a hot cuppa and enjoy the tart (with cream, of course!). It’s a perfect representation of all the perfectly sweet things that my second home has brought to my life.
