Some of you may be aware that there is a new movie coming out – the long awaited finale of the Harry Potter series (part one). As a big fan of J.K. Rowling’s work, I have been gearing up appropriately by re-watching all the movies and re-reading all the books. It’s actually a ritual I go through around the holidays every year, anyway – Hogwarts always remind me of Christmas. But this time I’m celebrating the release for a solid six weeks with friends, as we all watch the films on my giant TV and share our latest baked goods.
My goal every time a movie comes out is to theme the food – I’m a big fan of themes (obviously). Sadly, while Rowling mentions all kinds of exciting delicacies in her books, I just don’t know how to make any of them. What exactly is in a cauldron cake? How does one juice a pumpkin appropriately? And frankly, who wants to eat steak and kidney pie? Short of buying the exorbitantly expensive Bertie Botts’ Every Flavor Beans, it becomes difficult to really take advantage of this awesome party theme.
So I decided I would make a valiant attempt at Harry’s favorite dessert- the treacle tart. This came with it’s own problems, as I could not find treacle in my local markets, and having never tried a treacle tart, I didn’t have much to gauge it by. There were several recipes online, all of which, thankfully, used golden syrup, a British product that tastes like a cross between honey, agave, and corn syrup (any of which, or a blend, would probably be OK as a substitute). One called for eggs, which I did not use – I expect the result would make this more like a pecan pie without pecans. The recipe also calls for bread crumbs, to varying degrees – I think next time I would use less. Most also called for a frozen pie crust or a shortbread crust – my recipe is below, but feel free to substitute your favorite crust. One with ground pecans or almonds might be good.
The overall flavor is certainly what I would consider British. It’s a bit heavy, and a bit bland, but very homey. This is definitely one to serve WARM, and with ice cream or crème fraiche, or maybe lemon curd or custard (it does dry out pretty quickly). I might add fresh ginger instead of ground, and perhaps a touch of ground clove for interest. Americans will likely find it a bit odd, but I can absolutely see how, after a long wet ride across the lake, a glare from Snape, and a fight with Draco, Harry would treasure this humble and comforting, dead-simple dessert. So for those of you die-hard fans like myself, give this a try – it’s super simple to make, a great base for more exotic toppings, and a perfect accompaniment for butterbeer! Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus!
Treacle Tart
Cobbled together from about.com and Not So Humble Pie (at blogspot)
PASTRY
8 oz plain flour
1 oz fine sugar
4 oz very cold unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Cold water to mix
FILLING
8 oz golden syrup
1 T. molasses
6 oz fresh white breadcrumbs*
zest of a large lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tsp ground ginger
TOPPING
Egg wash
EQUIPMENT
9” tart pan with removable bottom
DIRECTIONS
For the crust:
Mix the flour and sugar with a whisk or your fingers until combined. Cut butter into small pieces and combine with dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or your cold fingertips. When the mixture looks like crumbly peas, mix vanilla with 3 tablespoons of ice water and mix in gently. If dough holds together when squeezed, you’re done – if not, continue to add water a tablespoon at a time. Once dough is cohesive, briefly knead into a disc, wrap in saran wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.
Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out to tart pan’s size. Press into tart pan and roll rolling pin over the top to remove excess (feel free to shape into a Sorting Hat or pumpkin to put on top). Refrigerate while you make the filling.
For the filling:
In a small saucepan, warm the golden syrup and molasses together until smooth and viscous (do not let boil).
Add ginger and lemon zest and juice, and mix to combine. Add in bread crumbs and allow the mixture to saturate.
Once the bread crumbs have taken on the juices, scoop into the prepared crust to cover the bottom (it will not expand in baking), and pop into a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.
Cool very briefly on a wire rack (no more than 5 minutes), then top with something yummy and serve with pumpkin juice or a goblet of Rosmerta’s best mead.
