This newspaper cutting was in my mother's book and gives an interesting background to the origins of treacle.
I have increased the quantities to fill a 23cm tart tin.
This recipe assumes you have bought ready-made shortcrust pastry. And nothing wrong with that! Just remember to take it out of the fridge about an hour before you need to use it.
350g shortcrust pastry
90g fresh breadcrumbs
1½ tbsp lemon juice
350g golden syrup
grated nutmeg
1 egg, beaten to glaze
Preheat the oven to 180ºC and grease a loose bottomed tart tin with butter paper.
Roll out ¾ of the pastry, quite thinly, keeping the remainder for the lattice top. Line the tin with the pastry and use your rolling pin to level off the top. Prick the base lightly with a fork and put it in the fridge to keep cool. Roll out the remaining pastry and put in between layers of greaseproof paper in the fridge.
Now for the filling. Heat the syrup in a saucepan and add the breadcrumbs, lemon juice, and grated nutmeg. Mix well and let it warm through. Take the tart case out of the fridge and pour in the mixture.
For the lattice top, I have taken advice from the original recipe. Cut the reserved pastry into 1cm strips, slightly longer than the edges of the tin. Lay half of the strips across the tin at equal distance, pressing down on one side only to secure. Fold back alternate strips and lay across another strip at right angles. Return the strips to their original position and then fold back the alternate strips. Lay across another strip and then return alternate strips to their original position. Then starting with the first strips, continue folding back and laying strips at right angles across the tart, until all the strips are interwoven. Moisten the edges of the strips, seal and secure on the edges of the tart. Trim, if necessary, and brush with the egg glaze.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave in the tin to cool completely. Take it out of the tin and put onto a serving plate. Delicious served with cream or ice-cream.
Comments