Chilling time:
1 hr

Special equipment:
9in (22cm) tart pan
food processor with blade attachment (optional)
baking beans
handheld blender (optional)

Ingredients:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
7 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and diced
¼ cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
½ tsp pure vanilla extract

For the filling:
¾ cup corn syrup
¾ cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 1⁄2 cups (3½oz/100g) brioche or croissant crumbs

Method:
1 To make the pastry, rub the flour and butter together until they form fine crumbs.

Stir in the sugar. Beat the egg yolks with the vanilla extract and add them to the dry ingredients, bringing the mixture together to form a soft dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Roll out the pastry on a well floured surface to 1⁄8in (3mm) thick. It will be quite fragile, so should it begin to crumble, just bring it together again with your hands and give it a gentle knead to get rid of any cracks.

Use it to line the pan, leaving an overlapping edge of 3⁄4in (2cm). Use a pair of scissors to trim any excess pastry that hangs down further than this. Prick the base all over with a fork. Roll up the excess pastry and chill for later use.

Line the pastry crust with parchment paper and weigh it down with baking beans.

Place the crust on a baking sheet and blind bake it for 20 minutes. Remove the baking beans and parchment paper and return the crust to the oven for another 5 minutes if the center looks a little uncooked when first removed.

Measure out the corn syrup into a large measuring cup. Measure the cream on top of it (the density of the syrup will keep the 2 separate, making measuring easy).

Add the eggs and orange zest and blend together with a handheld blender until well combined. Gently fold in the brioche crumbs.

Place the pastry crust on to a baking sheet, pull out an oven rack from the center of the oven, and put the baking sheet on top. Pour the filling into the crust and
carefully slide the rack into the oven.

Bake the tart for 30 minutes until just set, but before the filling starts to bubble up. Remove the tart from the oven and cool for at least 20 minutes before eating warm with thick cream or ice cream.

STORE:
The tart will keep in an airtight container for 2 days.

PREPARE AHEAD:
The unfilled pastry crust can be prepared ahead and stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or frozen for 12 weeks.

BAKER’S TIP:
Traditional treacle tarts are made from little more than pastry, syrup, and bread crumbs. For a delicious, more luxurious tart, try using cream and eggs to lighten the filling. They lend a smoothness and incorporate air to give a more mousse-like result than the sometimes stolid original recipe.

Treacle Tart Recipe