Treacle tart, Harry Potter’s favorite dessert, is often misunderstood as being made with molasses, but it is actually made with golden syrup. It can be served warm, hot, or cold and is a very sweet dish. It is easy to make with shortcrust pastry and can be a great addition to a Harry Potter themed party.
Treacle tart is a popular dessert in the UK. It has somewhat become a curiosity in other countries due to its frequent mention in the Harry Potter books. Molasses tart is in fact Harry’s favorite dessert.
To most anyone who isn’t British, there’s a big misconception about the treacle tart. It is believed by many to be made with molasses, which is often referred to as molasses in the UK. Treacle Tart is actually made with golden syrup, a byproduct of sugar production, like molasses, but more similar in flavor and texture to honey. Golden syrup may also be called molasses in the UK.
Golden syrup can be found in the United States in international grocery stores, and it can be purchased on the Internet so you can whip up the perfect molasses tart. If you can’t get the Golden Syrup, honey is a close close ingredient.
Most eggplant tarts start with a very rich shortcrust pastry as a base, usually containing butter, flour, and an added egg yolk so that the shortbread crumbs stick to each other. The golden syrup is combined with breadcrumbs, lemon juice, and occasionally spices such as ginger to form the treacle tart filling. The tart is then topped with several strips of dough to give it a rich, crunchy finish.
The treacle tart bakes for about 45 minutes and temperatures can vary according to the recipes. A treacle tart can be baked in small tins for individual tarts or it can be baked in a larger tart pan for serving in slices.
Molasses tart has a similar texture to pecan tart, although it does not usually contain egg in the filling and is less gelatinous. It’s slightly stickier. It can be served warm, hot or cold and can be topped with whipped cream or ice cream. It is a very sweet dish and those not used to such sweetness may find it overly sweet.
For those in the UK, the familiar taste of golden syrup usually makes treacle tart quite appealing. Golden syrup often tops porridge in place of brown sugar or maple syrup, and thus resembles childhood fare.
If you’re familiar with shortcrust pastry, treacle tart isn’t any more difficult to make than other pies, although the ingredients can be a bit more difficult to obtain outside the UK. Store-bought breadcrumbs can be used to further ease the process. Molasses dough should have cold butter cut into the flour, so the flour doesn’t become glutinous and stretchy, which results in a tougher crust. The egg should be added at the last minute and mixed quickly so the resulting crust stays flaky.
Treacle pie could make a great offering at a Harry Potter themed party, or just as a dessert after serving a traditional English dinner. Since it’s relatively easy to make, young Harry Potter fans could be asked to make and decorate individual tarts as part of classroom instruction or as a cooking class.
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