Today, I had the opportunity to bake Harry Potter's favorite dessert! For those of you that have not read Harry Potter or who have (gasp!) forgotten some of the minute details from the book series, I baked treacle tart. Specifically, I baked Mary Berry's treacle tart recipe, used as the technical challenge of Series 3, Episode 3 of The Great British Bake Off.
Despite having lived in England for a total of about 1 1/2 years, I have never before eaten treacle tart. It is certainly a well-known and classic tart, but is not as commonly found as Victoria sponge cakes, lemon drizzle cakes, or Bakewell tarts. Therefore, I have no frame of reference for how a treacle tart is supposed to taste. I assume my tart tastes right, because it does taste good.
I am very glad that Vincent, my husband, suggested this treacle tart as my bake for this week, as it gave me an excuse to go shopping on Amazon! The recipe calls for a 7" deep fluted tin with a removable bottom. This is not a standard size, and makes for a cute little tart. The tin I bought on Amazon worked perfectly for the recipe; the pastry did not stick to the sides, and the filling came to just below the edge. I also had to get the key ingredient- golden syrup- on Amazon. Golden syrup is readily available and quite affordable at groceries in England, but not so much here in the U.S.
Treacle tart is surprisingly easy to make. The first step is creating the pastry crust. It is possible to blend the flour and butter together in a food processor, but I chose to mix them with my fingers until the mixture resembled breadcrumbs. This step alone does not form anything remotely like a cohesive dough; it is important to add cold water a tiny bit at a time until the dough just barely holds together. It is very important that both the butter and the water are cold. Otherwise, the pastry will not have a flaky texture. The coldness follows through the next step of chilling the dough in the fridge before rolling. Rolling pie crust is also easier to roll out without breakage when chilled.
After the dough is chilled, 150g (4 1/2oz) should be set aside to be made into the lattice top. To be on the safe side, I stored this 150g of dough in the refrigerator while working with the bottom crust. It is easiest to roll out the dough between two pieces of clingfilm. The clingfilm keeps your counters clean and flour-free, keeps the rolling pin from sticking to the dough without adding extra flour, and provides an easy way to flip the crust over into the pan. The directions did not specify how thick the crust should be. Using my handy adjustable rolling pin, I chose to roll the bottom crust 3mm thick. Having seen the final result, I think 3mm was a perfect thickness. After flipping the crust into the buttered tin, it is important to make certain the crust is flush with the bottoms, sides, and corners of the tin. This gives the tart an ideal shape with good definition of the fluting and ascertains optimal volume for the filling. I took a trick from one of the Series 3 contestants: I used a piece of excess dough to press the crust into the corners and sides of the tin. Using dough minimizes the risks of breakage and unevenness. The bottom crust should be poked with a fork a few times to prevent unwanted rise in the oven. I chose to return the crust to the fridge until I was ready to put the filling in.
The dough for the lattice top should also be rolled out like a crust- I chose to make the lattice 2mm thick. It really does not do to have too thick an upper crust, especially when the filling is not particularly wet. The top had to be egg washed and refrigerated for about 20 minutes prior to being cut into strips. This gave time to prepare the filling.
The filling is comprised of golden syrup, breadcrumbs, lemon, and lemon rind. The golden syrup must be heated in a pot (until liquid, but not boiling) before adding the other ingredients. I made my own breadcrumbs from leftover bagels which I left out overnight. I had some issues with unevenly-sized breadcrumbs, making for a lumpy filling. This should not happen if using manufactured plain breadcrumbs. I got around the issue by sticking my filling in the food processor (a blender would also work) to make it smooth.
It amazes me how difficult many of the contestants on GBBO found making the lattice. I understand that it must be done quickly so that the dough does not get too warm before going in the oven. I, however, found that it only took about three minutes. It may not be the most perfect lattice ever, but it was easy peasy. Perhaps my previous experiences making thicker (and more difficult) lattice top crusts prepared me well for this challenge. Once the lattice is in place, the edges should be pressed down over the edge of the tin; this cuts the lattice and helps adhere it to the edges of the bottom crust.
The baking takes about 10 minutes at 400°F (200°C) and a further 20-25 minutes (I used 22) at 350°F (180°C). I did not have any issues with the latticework getting too browned. If, however, it starts to brown too much, the top should be covered with aluminium foil for the remainder of the bake.
In general, I found this a fairly easy bake. I can see how timing could be confusing, but the actual methodology is quite straightforward. I am looking forward to feedback from Vincent's coworkers. I, however, am quite pleased with the results.
Next week, I will be doing Paul Hollywood's ciabatta technical challenge from Series 5, Episode 3.
Despite having lived in England for a total of about 1 1/2 years, I have never before eaten treacle tart. It is certainly a well-known and classic tart, but is not as commonly found as Victoria sponge cakes, lemon drizzle cakes, or Bakewell tarts. Therefore, I have no frame of reference for how a treacle tart is supposed to taste. I assume my tart tastes right, because it does taste good.
I am very glad that Vincent, my husband, suggested this treacle tart as my bake for this week, as it gave me an excuse to go shopping on Amazon! The recipe calls for a 7" deep fluted tin with a removable bottom. This is not a standard size, and makes for a cute little tart. The tin I bought on Amazon worked perfectly for the recipe; the pastry did not stick to the sides, and the filling came to just below the edge. I also had to get the key ingredient- golden syrup- on Amazon. Golden syrup is readily available and quite affordable at groceries in England, but not so much here in the U.S.
The filling is comprised of golden syrup, breadcrumbs, lemon, and lemon rind. The golden syrup must be heated in a pot (until liquid, but not boiling) before adding the other ingredients. I made my own breadcrumbs from leftover bagels which I left out overnight. I had some issues with unevenly-sized breadcrumbs, making for a lumpy filling. This should not happen if using manufactured plain breadcrumbs. I got around the issue by sticking my filling in the food processor (a blender would also work) to make it smooth.
It amazes me how difficult many of the contestants on GBBO found making the lattice. I understand that it must be done quickly so that the dough does not get too warm before going in the oven. I, however, found that it only took about three minutes. It may not be the most perfect lattice ever, but it was easy peasy. Perhaps my previous experiences making thicker (and more difficult) lattice top crusts prepared me well for this challenge. Once the lattice is in place, the edges should be pressed down over the edge of the tin; this cuts the lattice and helps adhere it to the edges of the bottom crust.
The baking takes about 10 minutes at 400°F (200°C) and a further 20-25 minutes (I used 22) at 350°F (180°C). I did not have any issues with the latticework getting too browned. If, however, it starts to brown too much, the top should be covered with aluminium foil for the remainder of the bake.
In general, I found this a fairly easy bake. I can see how timing could be confusing, but the actual methodology is quite straightforward. I am looking forward to feedback from Vincent's coworkers. I, however, am quite pleased with the results.
Next week, I will be doing Paul Hollywood's ciabatta technical challenge from Series 5, Episode 3.
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