4 Ingredient Treacle Tart – A Harry Potter Inspired Recipe

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I’d never heard of Treacle Tart before I encountered it in the Harry Potter books. Apparently it’s Harry’s favourite food and after tasting it for myself I can see why. You won’t need any magical powers to whip up this dessert, it’s surprisingly easy to make, even for a muggle like me.

A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavour you can think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding… As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to their families.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling

Turns out Harry must have quite the sweet tooth, because treacle tart filling is basically sweet and sticky golden syrup, with a big hit of lemon thrown in.

The sweetness isn’t too overwhelming as the tangy lemon zest and juice cuts through with a big citrus zing! Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream on the side and you have yourself a mighty fine dessert.

Of course once I started planning Emma’s Harry Potter themed birthday party, I had to include Treacle Tart as part of her birthday feast. I also baked Pumpkin Pasties and Butter Beer Cup Cakes.

Luckily for me Treacle tart is quite easy to make, and with a few clever short cuts (I’m always looking for short cuts when it comes to cooking), you’ll only need 4 ingredients (well 5 if you count the egg wash).

I cheated by using pre-made shortcrust pasty sheets rather than making my own from scratch. Who has time to make pastry? If you can’t find pastry sheets, a pre-made pastry case is also fine to use.

You’ll need an extra sheet of pasty if you want to add a decorative top. I’ve kept mine simple with a simple with a stretched lattice top, but you can make yours as fancy as you like, or omit the top altogether. I think traditionally they were made without a pasty topping.

The original recipe I referenced used almost double the golden syrup I’ve included, but alas, I only had one cup on hand, so I adjusted the quantities slightly and it still turned out pretty great. My recipe uses 2 whole lemons, which makes it really zesty. If you don’t like your treacle tart super lemony, use just one, or one and a half lemons.

I’ve never heard of breadcrumbs as a filling ingredient, but it works super well to soak up all the flavours.

Emma helped me make the bread crumbs by cutting off the crusts. Bread that is 1-2 days old works best for making nice fluffy fine breadcrumbs. I just tore up the slices and whizzed them up in my mini food processor that came with my stick blender.

The shortcrust pastry sheets weren’t quite large enough to cover the whole tart tin, so I pressed 2 sheets together to get the full coverage. I’d normally blind bake a pastry case to avoid a soggy bottom, but didn’t really bother this time and it turned out fine.

The filling doesn’t look very appealing when you mix everything together, but it comes together super easily. You’ll need to warm the syrup till it’s thin so everything can combine properly. Make sure it doesn’t boil.

Pour the filling into the case and put it straight into a hot oven. If you leave it sitting around I suspect the pastry may get soggy.

Add your decorative topping about 20 minutes into the baking so it doesn’t sink into the filling. I cut my lattice top by hand, but you can also buy a fancy cutting roller that makes the job super quick.

Now it’s time to enjoy with a big dollop of cream! Tastes best warm, but it’s also good cold. I must admit I had a few leftover pieces for breakfast. Not the healthiest option but I can’t let a good treacle tart go to waste now can I?

4 Ingredient Treacle Tart - A Harry Potter Inspired Recipe

Yield: 1

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 minute

Inactive Time: 1 hour 39 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

A classic British sweet treat inspired by Harry Potter's favorite pudding. The perfect dessert for a Harry Potter themed party, or when you want to whip up an easy pudding. You'll only need 4-5 ingredients with my easy short cut.

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Ingredients

• 2 sheets of frozen ready made shortcrust pastry + 1 extra sheet if decorating top
• 2 lemons - juice and rind
• 250ml (1 cup) Golden Syrup
• 140g (4.9oz) fresh white breadcrumbs (about 10-12 day old crust free bread slices)
• 1 egg as egg wash (optional)

Instructions

1. Defrost shortcrust pastry at room temperature or in fridge as per packet recommendations.
2. Preheat oven to 160C (320F)

TO MAKE PASTRY CASE

1. Line line a greased, 23cm loose-bottomed tart pan with the pastry sheet/s. If one sheet isn't large enough use an extra pastry sheet and gently press together to join.
2. Prick base of pastry case with fork. Set aside or chill in fridge if room temperature is warm.

TO MAKE FILLING

1. Make breadcrumbs by cutting off bread crusts and whizzing in food processor until fine and fluffy.
2. Warm Golden Syrup in a pan over low heat, add lemon zest, lemon juice and breadcrumb, then stir to combine.
3. Pour filling into pastry case and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until set.
4. If adding pastry topping, make decorative lattice with 3rd sheet of pastry and add on top of filling about 20min into baking time. Brush with egg wash to assist browning.
5. Serve warm or cold with cream or ice cream.

Notes

Defrost frozen shortcrust pastry in the fridge for a couple of hours or if time is short, at room temperature. If it gets too soft at room temperature, pop it in the fridge to firm up a little.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 119Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 105mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 1gSugar: 10gProtein: 3g

Nutritional information is an estimate only and may vary depending on ingredients used.

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