Treacle Tart

 

I love Harry Potter. It's true. I have read the books multiple times. I have watched the movies multiple times. I have dreams that I'm Dumbledore's teacher's-pet. I find sticks in the yard and pretend that they're magic wands. I bake Harry's favorite food.




Unless you are British, you probably don't know what treacle tart is. Whenever it's mentioned in the books, you just skim over it, thinking it sounds nasty.

I'm here to tell you that you are wrong. But don't worry, I thought the same way until the day that I finally wiki-ed it.

Treacle tart is made of golden syrup (also known as treacle) which is like a lighter version of molasses. It's almost like honey. I found it in the British part of the international isle at Meijer. You can also find it on Amazon (click the link above). It's actually quite wonderful.

Treacle Tart

For the pastry crust:

1 cup cake flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
4 tablespoons of ice water

Grease and flour a 10 inch tart pan.
Combine the butter and shortening and freeze until firm. Cut in the flours and salt with a pastry cutter until it looks like this:

Freeze for about 15 minutes. Add the water and combine with the pastry cutter. Press into prepared pan, being careful not to overwork or get too warm. Freeze until filling is ready.

For the filling:

3 beaten eggs
1 cup Golden Syrup
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter, cooled
1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ginger
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs

Combine all ingredients and pour into crust. Bake at 350º for about 40-45 minutes.
Serve with whipped cream.