Treacle and pecan tart with Linzer pastry

I wanted to do a treacle tart, but with my usual need to fiddle about with stuff I thought I might try using a chocolate crust. After a bit more pondering, I came to the conclusion that might be just a bit too sweet and sickly, what with the amount of golden syrup involved. So, I chose a Linzer pastry – it has a touch of cocoa but the addition of cinnamon and almonds gives it a little edge. I then added pecans as they are quite a bitter nut (not that I don’t like them) to offset the sweetness a little further.

The other thing I altered (well, had no choice but to alter) was that treacle tart traditionally has double cream, and I had run out. So I used a tin of condensed milk instead. What do you know? It worked! I was exceptionally pleased with the results – this combination of flavours and ingredients makes for one very lovely treacle tart, better even than the classic original.

Equipment

• 23-25cm tart tin, preferably with a loose base. Greased and lined with baking parchment
• Rolling pin
• Bowls
• Saucepan
• Whisk
• Grater
• Spatulas, spoons etc
• Blender
• Baking beans or dried pulses
• Pastry brush

Ingredients – for the Linzer pastry

• Plain flour – 250g
• Cocoa powder – 10g
• Caster sugar – 125g
• Unsalted butter – 125g
• Finely diced almonds – 60g
• Baking powder – 1 1/2 teaspoons
• Eggs, 2 – keep one whole and separate the other into yolk and white
• Zest of one lemon, grated finely
• Salt, a pinch

Ingredients – for the treacle filling

• Golden syrup – 400 ml
• Egg, medium  – 1
• Condensed milk – 60ml
• Butter, salted, slightly softened – 25g
• Zest of two lemons
• Breadcrumbs – about three slices of bread crumbed finely in a blender
• Pecans, 100g

Method – pastry

1. In a large bowl, rub the butter into the dry ingredients (ie everything except the zest and eggs)
2. Once it is all fine crumbs and evenly distributed (ie no lumps of butter), add in the zest and one whole egg and one egg yolk (reserve one white in a separate small bowl)
3. Beat smooth with a wooden spoon until combined fully
4. Roll into a ball and then flatten out
5. Cover with cling film and rest in the freezer for ten minutes or the fridge for half an hour (at least or this can be made up to a day in advance and left in the fridge, or a month if freezing)
6. Turn the oven on to 170C fan / 180C conventional
7. Roll out the dough to about 3mm thickness (as it contains egg it will rise somewhat, so keep it thin)
8. Place into the prepared tart tin and trim the excess pastry off
9. Line the pastry shell with baking parchment (a good tip is to slightly wet the parchment and scrunch it, that way it fits into corners better) and tip in your baking beans or dried pulses
10. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes
11. Turn the oven off
12. Remove the baking beans/pulses and the baking parchment
13. Whisk the separated egg white a little and brush it all over the inside of the pastry shell
14. Return the tart tin to the oven for five minutes
15. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin

Method – filling

1. Put the oven on to 170C fan / 180C conventional
2. Warm the golden syrup and butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir together until combined
3. In a bowl, whisk the zest, egg and condensed milk together briefly (it won’t whisk up much)
4. When the golden syrup and butter have melted together tip it onto the zest/condensed milk and stir until fully combined
5. Tip in the breadcrumbs and stir
6. Pour into the pastry shell and then place the pecans on top
7. Place in the bottom of the oven and bake for about 30 minutes – the tart should not wobble when done
8. Leave to cool completely or serve slightly warm.
9. Turn out from the tart tin.
10. It’s particularly fabulous with vanilla ice cream

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