Simple Treacle Tart Recipe

If you live in the U.K. or have ever visited (or if you just happen to be a big "Harry Potter" fan), then there's a good chance you've heard of treacle tart. The classic British treat is a sticky sweet delight that recipe developer Jessica Case describes as "irresistibly delicious!" Thanks to her simple treacle tart recipe, you can enjoy the dessert anywhere and at any time, so long as you have golden syrup, a caramel-like syrup that is also quite beloved in the U.K.

Of course, treacle tart doesn't just consist of golden syrup — there's also the buttery tart crust, and combined with the sweet filling, Case can't help but rave about the delightful dessert. "My favorite thing about this dish is the buttery shortcrust base and the gooey filling made with the golden syrup, breadcrumbs, and lemon zest," she says. Topped off with a simple garnish of powdered sugar and dollops of whipped cream, treacle tart is the ooey-gooey confection you didn't realize was missing from your dessert repertoire. 

The crust portion of this recipe comes together thanks to all-purpose flour, brown sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and butter. The filling consists of white breadcrumbs (made fresh from white bread), heavy whipping cream, an egg, lemon zest and juice, and of course that golden syrup. "[The] special ingredient is the golden syrup which is a thick, amber-colored inverted sugar syrup that's made with sugar, water, and citric acid," Case explains. "It has a deep caramelized, buttery flavor. You can't make this tart without it." Luckily, you can buy golden syrup premade, which makes the recipe all the more simple. 

Preheat your oven to 375 F then focus on making the tart crust. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Then add in the vanilla and cubed butter and break the butter down into the dry ingredients until the whole mixture is very crumbly. Grab a crumb with your fingers and pinch it to make sure that it holds together and doesn't crumble apart — this means that you've distributed the butter evenly. 

Pour the crust mixture out into a 9-inch tart baking pan and use your hands to press it into all of the crevices. Cover the top of the crust with a piece of parchment paper then fill the crust with dried beans or pie weights. Transfer the crust to the middle shelf of the oven and bake for an initial 10 to 12 minutes; at that point, remove the parchment paper and beans then bake the crust for another 5 minutes, until golden brown.

Before you dive into making the treacle tart filling, make sure that your breadcrumbs are ready to go. To do so, simply blitz the white bread in a food processor until you've got coarse crumbs.

Now, place a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and add in the breadcrumbs, golden syrup, heavy cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, and egg. Bring the mixture to a light boil and be sure to mix constantly to avoid sticking or burning. Once the syrupy concoction is at a boil, reduce the heat slightly and cook for another 2 minutes.

Pour the syrupy filling into your slightly cooled tart crust, then transfer the whole thing to the oven to bake for about 25 minutes. You'll know that the tart is done baking when the filling has browned nicely. Once you remove the tart from the oven, allow it to cool down completely before diving in.

Once your treacle tart has fully cooled, you can optionally garnish it with a dusting of powdered sugar or some whipped cream. Otherwise, go ahead and slice and serve this sticky sweet delight. "Definitely pair it with fresh whipped cream or ice cream," Case advises. As for beverages, "This is a British dessert, so we know tea works great with this."

Any full-sized dessert runs the risk of leftovers, but luckily, you can just pop leftover tart slices into the fridge. "This is good up to 4 days in the fridge," Case notes.