Treacle and Apple Tart with Orange Zest and crushed Pecan Nuts.
What I learned, about writing recipes, from watching Ina Garton's 'Barefoot Contessa' Cooking Shows.
Today’s Baking
Today, I wanted to make a Treacle Tart. I’ve made several basic recipes before, but I wanted to revise them and bake them differently this time. I didn’t want to spend money on additional ingredients; I wanted to use what I already had.
I have a few vintage Bero Cookbooks, and when I compare the same recipe between a couple of the books, only the quantities have changed. Initially, it was baked on a plate with pastry and a small amount of golden syrup and breadcrumbs.
Tamasin Day-Lewis, whose book ‘The Art of the Tart’ first got me interested in making shortcrust pastry, has a wonderful-looking recipe for a Treacle Tart that I have yet to try. But her recipe for a Treacle Tart in her cookbook ‘Smart Tart’ caught my eye. In the list of ingredients was a coarsely grated Bramley Apple.
Her reason? “ Adding the coarsely grated Bramley Apple and the zest of 2 lemons stops the toothaching sweetness that is almost too much to bear.”
I agree; treacle tart can be too sweet, certainly for my taste. So, inspired by this, I leaned into my baking skills and adapted the recipe with a couple of my own adaptations to create my variation. Spoiler alert: I also added some Black Treacle.
So, where does Ina Garten fit into all this?
Well, back in the day, I would watch lots of cookery shows and one of my favourites was ‘ The Barefoot Contessa.’ I was blown away by how effortlessly she created and tested her recipes.
A section of one particular episode struck a chord with me, and I continue to follow it to this day.
I forget what Ina was making in the episode, but suddenly, she walked out of the kitchen and into a small adjacent room/office. She then sat at her desk and immediately updated the recipe notes on her laptop.
She reminded us that when creating recipes, we should constantly update our notes, whether in a notebook or computer, straight away before we forget them. It can be challenging to remember things as we go along.
She is right. How often have we thought we could remember the oven temperatures and timings or change ingredient quantities? We believe, or at least I do, that I can store the information in my memory until I next open my laptop.
So now, I have my laptop open on the countertop, with the keyboard covered in clingfilm to prevent flour from falling over the keys. I immediately update my notes, often changing ingredients, amounts, and timings.
And that’s just what I did as I adapted and tested this recipe.
Treacle and Apple Tart with Orange Zest and crushed Pecan Nuts.
Ingredients
For the Pastry
100g White Spelt plain flour ( or any plain white flour)
100g Spelt Wholemeal flour ( or any wholemeal flour). See Tips below.
Pinch of salt ( only enough to hold between your thumb and finger)
50g butter, fridge cold, cut into cubes
50g Trex, fridge cold, cut into cubes (vegetable baking fat)
1 medium egg
1 - 2 teaspoons cold water. You may not need it all.
For the Filling
1 medium Bramley apple approx weight 240g unpeeled
200g brown breadcrumbs - approx 2-3 thick slices of brown bread. Remove any crusts if they are too hard.
250g golden syrup
80g treacle - If you don’t have black treacle, use golden syrup
2 medium eggs
2 tablespoons whole milk or single cream
Zest of Orange. A lemon is fine.
35 grams of Pecan nuts roughly chopped
8 whole Pecan nuts for decoration. (Optional)
Method
Step 1: Place the white and wholemeal flour, salt, butter, and Trex in a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Step 2: Add the egg and some of the water and mix until you have a smooth, firm ball of dough.
Tip: Do not add all the water in one go. Only add enough to bring the dough together to a smooth dough.
Step 3: Flatten the dough a little and wrap it in cling film. Place in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Tip: Wholemeal flour can sometimes be a thirsty creature, so add more or less water if needed. If using a large egg, or if using all white flour in place of wholemeal flour, you may not need to add any water at all. With practice, you will know which is best for you.
Step 4: Grease the base and sides of an 8-inch (fluted) tart tin with softened butter.
Step 5: Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll it out onto a lightly floured surface or between two sheets of nonstick baking parchment. The pastry should be rolled out large enough to cover the base and sides of the tin, with a little leftover for a decorative pastry top.
Step 6: Carefully line the prepared tin, neatening the corners, and press the pastry into the sides of the tin. Pass a rolling pin over the top to remove surplus pastry easily. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork, cover with baking parchment, and return to the fridge to rest for 10 - 15 mins.
Tip: When blind baking, allow plenty of baking parchment to overlap the sides to prevent the pastry from drying out in the fridge or burning in the oven.
Tip: Wholemeal pastry sometimes needs careful handling when lining a tart tin. Use odd pieces to patch up any cracks.
Tip: Leave the covered pastry in the fridge overnight if you want to bake the next day.
Blind Baking
Preheat the oven to a 200 C deg fan-assisted oven.
Please note. All ovens are different and will bake at different temperatures. Once you get to know your oven, you will know which is the best temperature for you. Learn from any failures. They will still taste great.
Step 7: Remove the pastry tart from the fridge and pour in some baking beans, ensuring they cover the base of the baking parchment.
Tip: DO NOT place baking beans directly onto raw pastry unless you want a baking bean pie. :-)
Step 8: Place the pastry tart in the oven on the middle shelf and bake for 20 minutes. It should begin to feel dry to the touch. Remove the baking parchment and beans and return the tart to the oven for a few minutes to dry the pastry further.
Make the Treacle and Apple Filling.
Step 8: Blitz the bread in a food processor to fine breadcrumbs. It helps to break the slices up before doing so.
Step 9: Melt the treacle and golden syrup in a pan over low heat until softened and slightly runnier. This makes mixing with the other ingredients, especially the breadcrumbs, easier.
Step 10: Gently beat the eggs and milk in a large bowl until well combined. Add the orange zest, breadcrumbs, coarsely grated Bramley apple, chopped pecan nuts, softened golden syrup, and treacle. Mix until well combined with no dry patches of breadcrumbs.
Tip: Coarsely grate the apple directly into the mixture. Doing so will help prevent it from going brown if you were to grate it earlier.
Step 11: Turn the oven down by 20 degrees to 180 c deg fan-assisted oven. Pour the mixture into the base of the prebaked pastry case, decorate it with offcuts of pastry shapes or a lattice, and scatter with a few whole pecans.
Step 12: Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 40 - 45 minutes or until baked. The filling should be soft to the touch, with no runny syrup/treacle.
Serve
Allow to cool before slicing. Serve it with whatever you like: cream, ice cream, yoghurt, or just on its own.
I would love to know if you have made other variations of a Treacle Tart. Please leave a comment below if you have one. Likewise, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
As always, Happy Baking.
Lynn x