A Very British Treacle Tart

It is Harry Potter's favourite dessert. It featured in the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as an irresistible treat used by the childcatcher to lure young children into his grasp. It is quintessentially British; it is treacle tart. Treacle tart is traditionally made with Lyles Golden Syrup (which is light treacle as opposed to the "black" treacle used in various cake recipes). It is a very simple recipe that yields a delicious dessert or snack with very little work. Here is how I made it.

Ingredients

• 1 can Lyles Golden Syrup
• 1 pack of McVities Rich Tea biscuits
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 frozen pie shell or make from scratch using plain flour, butter and an egg

Preparation

• Crush about half a pack of McVities Rich Tea biscuits into crumbs
• Stir in a whole can of Lyles Golden Syrup. If the resulting mix is too thick stir in a very small amount of hot water; if it is too thin add more crushed Rich Tea biscuits
• Stir in the lemon juice and the spices and mix thoroughly
• Prepare a pastry shell by mixing a cup of plain flour with enough butter to absorb the flour. Lightly beat an egg and mix it into the flour. Add a very small amount of hot water to make it workable then roll out on a floured board. Line a pie dish with the pastry and lightly bake the empty pastry shell until it is just dry
• Spoon the treacle mix into the pastry shell and bake for 30 minutes at 375F

John's Notes
Some readers may be gasping and spluttering by now. "Treacle tart is made with breadcrumbs not Rich Tea biscuits" you may be saying. Of course you are right, but Rich Tea biscuits are made with British flour (which is often hard to get in Canada); they crush very easily into clean dry crumbs that absorb the syrup well during baking. So the next time somebody tells you to use breadcrumbs tell them you know a better way.

Please Steal This Recipe
Go ahead, steal this recipe. Share it with anybody. Publish it in your own recipe book. I reserve absolutely no copyright whatsoever. But I would be very honoured and grateful if you would mention that you got it from my Blighty's Britfood Tips blog. Thank you.

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