Black Treacle Tart
The perfect dessert for your Halloween supper or a grand dinner - we developed this recipe for The Lord Mayor of London. From The Livery Kitchen Cookbook.
Ingredients Serves 8–10
Uses a 23cm fluted tart case and baking beans or rice
For the pastry
200g Plain Flour
Pinch of salt
100g Butter
2 Egg Yolks
1 tablespoon Water
For the filling
6 tablespoons Black Treacle
6 tablespoons Honey
6 tablespoons Golden Syrup
160g Butter, melted
135ml Double Cream
3 Eggs
80g fresh Breadcrumbs
Grated zest and juice of 2 Lemons
For the streusel topping
85g Plain Flour
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
50g Demerara Sugar
50g Butter
2 Lemons, zested
Method
• Make the pastry: mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Rub butter into the flour until it is the consistency of breadcrumbs.
• Mix the egg yolks with the water in a cup. Pour this into a well in the flour and use your fingertips to knead the dough together into a ball. Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• Roll out the pastry on a floured surface. Carefully fit it to the tart tin and neatly pinch off any excess around the edges.
• Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork. Crumple a piece of baking paper so it will fit into the pastry case and fill it with baking beans or uncooked rice. This will prevent the pastry rising off the base of the tin when it cooks.
• Bake the pastry case in a preheated oven at 200°C/gas mark 6 for 10 minutes. Then remove the paper and baking beans and cook for a further 10 minutes.
• Now prepare the filling: mix the treacle, honey, golden syrup, melted butter and double cream together. Beat the whole eggs in a separate bowl and stir them into the mixture together with the breadcrumbs and lemon zest.
• Pour the filling into the tart case, reduce the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3 and bake for 20–25 minutes until just set.
• while the tart is baking, make the streusel topping by rubbing all the ingredients together to form crumbs.
• Remove the tart from the oven, cover the top with the streusel and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.
• in the photograph the Black Treacle Tart is presented with passion fruit gel, stem ginger ice cream, strips of stem ginger, and fresh mint, but at home it will be equally delicious served with just a dollop of Greek yoghurt or cream.