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Harry Potter's Treacle Tart
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4.50 from 20 votes

Harry Potter's Treacle Tart

Harry Potter's favorite dessert: treacle tart, a very simple and delicious homemade tart recipe made with golden syrup, fresh breadcrumbs and lemon juice.
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Pies and Cheesecakes
Cuisine: English
Servings: 8
Calories: 593kcal
Author: Adina

Equipment

Ingredients

  • Pastry:
  • 280 g unsalted butter 10 oz/ 1 cup + 2 ½ tablespoons , Note 2
  • 350 g all-purpose flour 12.4 oz/ scant 3 cups
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 5-6 tablespoons very cold water
  • Alternative: 2 ready-made pie crusts
  • Filling:
  • 315 g golden syrup 11 oz/ ⅞ cup + 1 tablespoon , Note 3
  • 110 g fresh breadcrumbs 3.8 oz/ 2 ¼ cups , Note 4
  • 1 organic lemon
  • 1 egg + 1 tablespoon water for brushing the pastry

Instructions

Pastry:

  • Chill butter: Cut the butter into small cubes, place them in one layer on a plate, and put them in the freezer for about 15 minutes, they should not be frozen but get really cold.
  • Mix flour, sugar, and salt in the stand mixer.
  • Add the butter cubes and process shortly, about 10 pulses, but it depends on the machine you are using. The dough should resemble breadcrumbs.
  • Dough: Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of icy water, and pulse a few times again until the dough comes together. Add the third tablespoon of water if necessary, sometimes I do add it, sometimes not, it depends on how exactly you weigh the flour and sometimes on the brand of the flour itself. The dough should hold together when you press a little bit of it between your fingers.
  • Refrigerate: Form a ball, divide it into two discs, one a bit larger than the other, and wrap the discs tightly in plastic foil. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Filling:

  • Make breadcrumbs: Remove the crust from the bread, weigh the 4 oz7 110 g needed and make breadcrumbs in your food processor.
  • Zest and juice the lemon.
  • Combine filling: Place the golden syrup into a small saucepan and warm gently until it is runny, it will not take long. Combine the syrup, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, and lemon juice very well.

Assemble the treacle tart:

  • My pie dish has a diameter of 9 inches/ 23 cm, so I rolled the dough into a circle of about 10 inches/ 26 cm in diameter. It is loose-bottomed (like a springform), which makes things easier for me when removing the pie from the form. A regular dish works as well, but you will have to be more careful when taking the tart out of the form. Or use a ceramic pie dish, so you can cut and serve the tart directly from the dish.
  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/ 200 degrees Celsius.
  • Roll dough: On a lightly floured surface roll out the larger disc into a circle large enough to cover the bottom and the edges of your pie form. Place the rolled-out pastry sheet into your dish, pressing the dough into the fluted edges of the pan.
  • Lattice: Roll out the second disc of pastry into a circle of about ⅛ inch/ 3 mm thickness and a diameter of about 9 inches/ 23 cm. Cut the pastry into long strips for the lattice topping.
  • Harry Potter decoration: If you want to decorate the treacle tart to resemble Harry Potter, cut out the glasses, the scar, and the mouth. You will have leftover pastry in this case. You can cut it into biscuits and bake them separately until golden. Or freeze the leftover pastry for making a small pie some other time.
  • Assemble tart: Pour the filling into the prepared pie dish and level the top. Lay half of the strips over the filling in one direction and the other half of the strips in the other direction to form a lattice. Trim the edges.
  • Egg wash: Mix the egg and the water and brush the lattice and the edges of the pie with the mixture.
  • Bake the tart for 10 minutes at 200 degrees/ 400 degrees Fahrenheit, then reduce the heat to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking for another 25 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the filling puffs up in the center. The filling should still be slightly jiggly.

Video

Notes

  1. A digital kitchen scale will give you the most precise measure ensuring the best bake possible.
  2. European style butter is best, it has less water.
  3. Also known as treacle or light treacle. Not to be confused with corn syrup or black treacle. Grafschafter Heller Sirup for Germany.
  4. Made from crustless white toast bread.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 593kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 403mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g