Treacle Tart

After filling our bellies at the Gazebo Wine Garden, Lisa and I passed by the British Lolly Shop and the first thing that caught my eye was the unmistakable green tin bottle of Lyle's Golden Syrup. Oh, this little green tin with the gold lion on the front brings back so many childhood memories. Mum would always make her awesome banana pancakes on the weekends and drizzled this golden syrup over it. I would always get in trouble for trying to sneak my spoon into the can for extra.

They don't sell it in supermarkets here but they do sometimes have it on special at Aldi. I couldn't resist picking up a can even though it was pretty expensive and boy, am I glad I did. I had forgotten how different this syrup is to the CSR golden syrup. The CSR syrup is darker and more bitter. It seemed like a waste to just eat it on its own so my brother suggested I made this really treacle tart recipe he has seen on Lifestyle Food.

Like I already mentioned, this tart is so so sooooooo easy to do, especially the filling which you just bung in a bowl and stir! The Lyle's Golden Syrup made the filling rich and lovely with not even the tiniest hint of bitterness. Loved it!

Treacle Tart

(from BBC Food Recipes)
For the pastry:
225g/8oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
110g/4oz butter, chilled, diced
1 medium free-range egg, lightly beaten
For the filling:
450g/1lb golden syrup
85g/3oz fresh breadcrumbs
generous pinch ground ginger
1 lemon, zest, finely grated and 2 tbsp of the juice
To serve
double cream or whipped thickened cream

In a bowl, rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the egg with a knife, then knead on a clean, lightly dusted work surface to form a smooth dough.

Use the dough to line a 23cm/9in loose-bottomed tart tin, prick the base all over with a fork and leave to rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C/375F/Gas 5. Line the pastry with parchment paper and weigh down with rice or ceramic baking beans. OR if you have incredibly stingy people in the house like my brother who refuse to let you use their rice, cover the pastry with a couple sheets of foil and weigh down with 5cent/10cent coins. You just have to be careful when taking the hot metal off after baking.

Bake the pastry blind for 10-15 minutes, remove the paper and rice or beans (or coins) and return the pastry case to the oven for a few minutes more, until light golden-brown.

For the filling, mix together the filling ingredients in a bowl and pour into the pastry case.

Return to the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold with clotted cream or double cream.

Unfortunately I did have my oven up a bit too high and then was so relaxed from the whole easy tart-making process that I forgot and left it in a few minutes too long. The top got very crunchy and toffee like when it cooled which was a little bit chewy to eat but still tasted great. If you follow the recipe and not forget about your tart like I did I'm sure it will be just right :)