Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Treacle Tart

After much hesitation and in-depth research, I give you...treacle tart. The hesitation came from the fact that I was not able to find a tin of treacle. Then I found an explanation of treacle tart:

"Treacle tart is a popular dessert in the UK. It has become somewhat of a curiosity in other countries due to its frequent mention in the Harry Potter books. Treacle tart is in fact, Harry’s favorite dessert.

For most anyone not British, great misunderstanding exists about treacle tart. Many assume that it is made with molasses, which is often called treacle in the UK. Actually treacle tart is made with golden syrup, a by-product of sugar making, like molasses, but more similar in taste and texture to honey. Golden syrup may also be referred to as treacle in the UK."



I have found a grocery store here in town that carries golden syrup (yes, it's expensive)...so I felt like I was good to go. I found a recipe on RecipeZaar for treacle tart. I wish I could say I liked it, but no...not too much. The crust recipe was nice, I might use it again, but the filling was strangely not "there" for me. It was a little like the filling for pecan pie (minus the pecans) had accidentally fallen into the filling for lemon pie. A bit like butterscotch meets lemon. I just wasn't feeling it.

Alex van der Stevejinck's review: Satisfactory. Which I think is his nice way of saying that while it wasn't great, it was edible.

4 comments:

  1. Dare I say your treacle tart was beans on toast?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Um, I know I'm a hideous noodge here, but if you're imagining B&M baked beans, or any of the yummy Bush's bake beans varieties -- think again.

    Here's why beans on toast is the worst thing: the beans are yucky. Um, imagine navy beans (i.e., pale & bland) in tomato sauce with some sugar added. Bland, bland, bland. Now put it on toast. Frankly, I don't think the loaf of bread has been baked that can rescue Brit baked beans from being simply revolting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for setting us straight. I do imagine "American" baked beans. Navy beans in tomato sauce? Blech!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Not all golden syrups are created equal. I bought one once down south in a tin and it was delicious ( I use it in my Dixieland Frycakes to flavor and pour on it). A friend of mine ordered some in a bottle which is not good or at least not as good. So the tart may have suffered(alas) from inferior syrup.

    ReplyDelete