Sourdough Treacle Tart

by Richard Snapes, Grant Harrington & Eve Hemingway, featured in Bread & Butter: History, Culture, Recipes

Published by Quadrille

Print me

Introduction

I first tried sourdough treacle tart at Silo in Brighton, I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it before – a classic recipe, staying true to the age-old ethic of using up old bread, but doing it in a more delicious way. It goes without saying that this is a very sweet dessert. I’ve offset it here with a lot of lemon, and the tang of the sourdough also goes some way to balancing it, but ultimately this is for those with a really sweet tooth.

As featured in

Bread & Butter: History, Culture, Recipes

Image of Richard Snapes' Sourdough Treacle Tart — Photo by Patricia Niven

Ingredients

Serves: 8-10

Metric Cups

For the filling

300 grams golden syrup
100 grams maple syrup
125 grams breadcrumbs made from day-old sourdough bread (without crusts)
finely grated zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1 large knob of butter
cultured or clotted cream to serve (optional)

For the pastry (this makes twice as much as you need)

100 grams cold butter (diced)
230 grams plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
120 grams caster sugar
1 large egg (lightly beaten)

For the filling

10½ ounces golden syrup or light corn syrup
3½ ounces maple syrup
4½ ounces breadcrumbs made from day-old sourdough bread (without crusts)
finely grated zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1 large knob of butter
cultured or clotted cream to serve (optional)

For the pastry (this makes twice as much as you need)

3½ ounces cold butter (diced)
8 ounces all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting)
4 ounces superfine sugar
1 large egg (lightly beaten)

Method

Sourdough Treacle Tart is a guest recipe by Richard Snapes, Grant Harrington & Eve Hemingway so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe

First make the pastry. Rub the butter into the flour and sugar with your fingertips, then gradually add the egg until just coming together (be careful not to overwork the pastry or it will become tough). Form your dough into a rough ball and cut in half. Cover both halves with plastic wrap/clingfilm and pop one in the freezer, for use at a later date, and chill one in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Take your pastry out of the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface so that it it’s big enough to fit a 18–20cm (7–8in) tart tin with some overhang. Transfer the pastry to your butter-greased tart tin and use your fingers to carefully push the pastry into the sides – don’t worry about any pastry overhang as we’ll trim that later to make it look nice.
Line the tart case with baking paper and fill with baking beans or uncooked rice, then blind-bake for 15 minutes. While the pastry is baking, make the filling.
In a large saucepan over a low heat, gently warm the golden syrup and maple syrup until loose and runny – take care not to let it boil or the sugars will burn. Take off the heat and add the breadcrumbs, lemon zest and juice and the butter. Stir until the breadcrumbs have absorbed the syrup.
Remove the paper and beans from the tart case and bake for a further 5 minutes to dry out the base of the tart case. Take the tart case out of the oven, then turn the temperature down to 160°C (320°F).
With a sharp knife, carefully trim the overhanging edges of the tart case. Pour the filling into the tart case and bake for 25–30 minutes, until a deep, golden colour.
Serve with cultured or clotted cream to give your arteries an extra challenge.

First make the pastry. Rub the butter into the flour and sugar with your fingertips, then gradually add the egg until just coming together (be careful not to overwork the pastry or it will become tough). Form your dough into a rough ball and cut in half. Cover both halves with plastic wrap/clingfilm and pop one in the freezer, for use at a later date, and chill one in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Take your pastry out of the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface so that it it’s big enough to fit a 18–20cm (7–8in) tart tin with some overhang. Transfer the pastry to your butter-greased tart tin and use your fingers to carefully push the pastry into the sides – don’t worry about any pastry overhang as we’ll trim that later to make it look nice.
Line the tart case with baking paper and fill with baking beans or uncooked rice, then blind-bake for 15 minutes. While the pastry is baking, make the filling.
In a large saucepan over a low heat, gently warm the golden syrup or light corn syrup and maple syrup until loose and runny – take care not to let it boil or the sugars will burn. Take off the heat and add the breadcrumbs, lemon zest and juice and the butter. Stir until the breadcrumbs have absorbed the syrup.
Remove the paper and beans from the tart case and bake for a further 5 minutes to dry out the base of the tart case. Take the tart case out of the oven, then turn the temperature down to 160°C (320°F).
With a sharp knife, carefully trim the overhanging edges of the tart case. Pour the filling into the tart case and bake for 25–30 minutes, until a deep, golden colour.
Serve with cultured or clotted cream to give your arteries an extra challenge.