ST201901

CAKE

IN THE

HOUSE

TREACLE TART WITH

THYME & ORANGE

Serves 8–10

725g golden syrup

1 egg

50ml double cream

50g unsalted butter

Zest of 1 orange

2 tsp thyme leaves, chopped,

plus an extra sprig to decorate

200g white breadcrumbs

FOR THE PASTRY

45g icing sugar

170g plain flour

A warm and sticky treacle tart is

happiness in a tin on a wintry day

85g butter, cubed and chilled

1 tbsp iced water

2 eggs

1 To make pastry, combine icing sugar and

plain flour in a medium bowl. Rub in the

chilled butter cubes until mixture looks like

fine breadcrumbs (or use food processor).

Add iced water and 1 egg and stir through.

2 Tip out dough and bring it together with

your hands, kneading lightly to a smooth

finish. Wrap pastry tightly in cling film and

place in fridge for at least 30 mins.

3 Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160C/Gas 4.

On a floured surface, roll out pastry to 2mm

thick. Grease and flour a 22cm loose-

bottomed tart tin (ideally 3cm deep), then

lay over the pastry, tucking into the corners

and leaving an overhang. Line pastry case

with baking parchment and baking beans.

4 Blind bake the pastry for 25 mins, then

remove the paper and beans, trim the

overhang and brush the pastry with the

remaining egg (beaten). Return to the oven

for 10 mins, until the base is just colouring.

Remove and set aside, but leave oven on.

5 To make the filling, pour the golden syrup

into a medium pan set over a low heat.

Whisk the egg and cream together in

a bowl. When the syrup is hot, but not

boiling, stir in the butter and allow it to melt.

6 Next, stir in the orange zest, chopped

thyme, breadcrumbs, then the cream

and egg mixture. Take the pan off the heat

and let it stand for 5 mins, to allow the

breadcrumbs to take up the syrup.

7 Pour the filling into the pastry case and

bake for 35–40 mins, until just set and

golden brown around the edges. Leave

to cool in the tin for 15–20 mins before

removing from to cool fully. Decorate

with reserved thyme sprig.

Recipe from Time: A Year and a Day in

the Kitchen by Gill Meller (Quadrille).

Photography: Andrew Montgomery