If you do not know who Harry Potter is, you might be living under a rock. He is a cultural phenomenon. Harry Potter books outstrip sales of every book in history, save for Lord of the Rings and The Little Prince. If you have read the stories, you may have noticed that JK Rowling uses food quite often as a prop in scenes. There are so many varieties to try: puking pasties, Bertie Bots Every Flavor Bean’s, Butterbeer. You could create whole banquets based on her fictional food and still have recipes leftover to try. However, one standout for me is the Treacle Tart.
“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 – JK Rowling
Treacle Tart’s are Harry Potter’s favorite food. That in itself washes me in nostalgia. It brings up countless hours of scintillating fantasy curled up in a chair with a fluffy blanket. Or, pouring over the last pages of book 6 at 4 in the morning after I went to a midnight book release party. It brings up good memories. Here is a recipe I found that may bring up some memories for you. The original recipe can be found here.
Treacle Tart
Serves 10
Ingredients
Pastry
200g plain flour
2tbsp icing sugar
Zest of one lemon
Pinch of salt
140g butter, chilled and cubed
1 egg yolk
Filling
600ml golden syrup
A pinch of ground ginger
150g fresh fine breadcrumbs
Zest and juice of one lemon
1 egg
Equipment
Mixing bowl
23cm fluted tart tin (or similar)
Cling film
Rolling pin
Fork
Baking sheet/tray
Baking paper and baking beans (or rice/uncooked beans)
Saucepan
Wooden spoon
Knife
Pastry brush (optional)
Cooling Rack
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1 To make the pastry, combine the flour, icing sugar, lemon zest and salt in a bowl. Rub in the cold butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and 1-2tbsp of very cold water and combine with your hands in the bowl until the mixture comes together into a dough. Turn onto a lightly floured bench and bring into a ball. You shouldn’t work it too much, as the pastry won’t be crisp if you do.
2 Wrap the pastry in cling film and pop in the fridge for half an hour. Don’t be tempted to skip the chilling, as the pastry may shrink in the oven.Advertisement
3 Roll out the dough on a lightly floured bench. If the pastry is sticking – as it is wont to do in a warm kitchen – roll it between two pieces of greaseproof paper rather than straight onto the bench. Stop rolling when you have a 30cm circle that is around the thickness of a pound coin.
4 Drape your pastry over your rolling pin, or keep it on the sheet of greaseproof paper, and lay it across the fluted tart tin. Use a small ball of spare dough (rather than your fingers – your nails may cut the pastry) to push it into place, making sure it goes right into the edges. If there are any tears in the pastry, patch them up with extra dough. Lightly prick the base with a fork and return to the fridge to chill for a further 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 190C and insert the baking sheet in the middle of the oven to heat up.
5 Line the chilled pastry case with baking paper and fill with the baking beans or uncooked beans. Place in the oven on the baking sheet for fifteen minutes, then remove the baking paper and beans and bake for a further five minutes, until golden.
6 To prepare the filling, heat the golden syrup and ground ginger in a saucepan over a low heat until hot, but not boiling. Stir in the breadcrumbs, lemon zest and juice and one beaten egg until just combined, and pour into the pastry case.
7 Return to the oven and bake the tart for 30-35 minutes until the filling is set and the pastry golden. Cool on a wire rack for fifteen minutes before removing from the tin and serving warm with crème fraîche, sour cream or ice-cream. Leftovers (should there be any) should be reheated a little in the oven before eating, or you risk losing a tooth!