Treacle tart Harry Potter’s all-time favourite dessert! And for good reason. Fresh bread crumbs, delightful golden syrup, the slightest hint of lemon, buttery crust. Delicious!
(Do you like recreating recipes from books, TV shows or movies? Try this chocolate brownie tart with brown butter crust – it’s based on Minny’s famous chocolate pie
, while this pasta carbonara recipe is David Rossi’s famous dish from the show
.)
Okay you guys. This weekend is going to be a very special weekend.
And this tart is a very special tart.
Because it’s for a very special boy named Harry.
Yes, I’m referring to that Harry. The Harry we all love. The boy who lived!
Granted he was born on July 31, 1980 which makes him middle-aged now (which also means I’m 1,000 years old lol)…it’s his birthday and treacle tart is his favourite so I channeled my inner Hermione and made this easy treacle tart recipe that I’m sure he’ll will love.
The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook
This scrumptious recipe is from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook
. It’s a fantastic book filled with mouth-watering Harry Potter recipes. It’s a must-own for any Harry Potter fan.
I reached out to author Dinah Bucholz to officially ask permission to feature a recipe from her book in my blog.
It was a long shot, I was not expecting her to reply, but she did in a matter of hours! Isn’t that lovely of her?
I instantly knew I had to bake a treacle tart. I figure, making Harry’s favourite dessert is a great way to experience that universe.
What is treacle tart?
So first up, what is treacle tart? It’s a traditional British dessert made of golden syrup, breadcrumbs and lemon.
It’s typically served warm topped with clotted cream
, crème fraiche, whipped cream or ice cream.
And it’s called treacle because golden syrup is also called light treacle.
What is golden syrup?
Golden syrup is the key ingredient in treacle tart and it is delicious. Have you heard of it?
According to Wikipedia, it’s a thick, golden inverted sugar syrup that’s a result of refining sugar cane into sugar.
Sounds like something out of Potions Class? Yeah, I didn’t attempt to understand it either. Bottom-line: it’s fantastic
The most well-known brand is Lyle’s Golden Syrup
. It’s not as commonly available here as it is in the UK but once you find it, trust me, you would want to buy a couple of jars or tins .
I used golden syrup to make these bourbon pecan pie bars. It’s magic, I tell you.
(Can’t find golden syrup? You can also try making your own!)
What does treacle tart taste like?
Because its main component is golden syrup, treacle tart is sweet. Although the lemon juice helps in cutting through that sweetness so you would taste a nice hint of citrus flavour too.
Buttery crust. Moist, chewy centre. Golden syrup. The closest I can compare it to is pecan pie.
How to make treacle tart Harry Potter’s favourite
The first treacle tart I baked was a disaster.
My single mistake? A rookie one. A really silly one. An I-should-have-known-better one.
I didn’t follow the recipe.
It says fresh bread crumbs but I thought well, bread crumbs are available in a can too so surely they’re the same thing. They are most definitely not.
Do not (I repeat, DO NOT) use those ready-made bread crumbs you can buy in a can. My practice tart came out too dry and hard as a rock.
What you do is buy bread a couple of days before you plan to bake this tart (because stale bread is better) then make your own breadcrumbs. They’re so easy and takes no time at all.
You can use a food processor to grind them or a cheese grater like I did.
Ingredients for easy treacle tart
In addition to fresh breadcrumbs, other ingredients you would need include, for the crust:
- All-purpose flour
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Salt
- Cold butter
- Cold large egg yolks
- Cold heavy cream
- Pure vanilla extract
Meanwhile, for the filling, you would need:
- Golden syrup
- Fresh bread crumbs
- Lemon zest and lemon juice
- Egg for the egg wash
Tools you need to make this treacle tart recipe
A food processor
would be helpful for making the pie crust but you can make it without one, like I did. I made the crust by hand.
I just had to make sure the butter was cold and I was careful not to overwork the dough (I stopped crumbling the butter when they were just about pea-sized and my flour mixture had a slight tinge of yellow to it).
Once you have everything ready, this tarts comes together pretty easily. You can even make the crust up to 3 days ahead.
We eat it warm with ice cream on top. Also pairs very well with coffee or tea.
I am sharing the original recipe below for you to try out. And try you must! It’s delicious.
Happy birthday Harry! (You’ll forever be 11 in my heart.)
Other pie and tart recipes
Do you like pies and tarts? Try these easy and delicious pie and tart recipes.
You only need to bake the crust to make this cookie butter pie. The creamy filling needs no oven time at all!
Want something a little boozy and 100% no-bake? You’d love this Baileys chocolate mousse pie. It has delightful specks of chocolate in it.
A refreshing spring and summer treat, this no-bake raspberry white chocolate tart sits on a fabulous Oreo cookie crust and is bursting with white chocolate flavour.
Treacle Tart Harry Potter’s Favourite!
Ingredients
Tart Crust:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks cold butter cut into chunks
- 2 cold large egg yolks
- ⅓ cup cold heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Filling:
- 1 cup golden syrup or light molasses or corn syrup
- 2 ¼ cups fresh bread crumbs
- Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for brushing over the crust
Instructions
- For the crust, place the flour, confectioner’s sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the flour mixture. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse yellow meal without any white powdery bits remaining, about 20 pulses. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Beat the egg yolks with the cream and vanilla and pour them into the flour-butter mixture. Toss with a spatula until the dough clumps together. If the dough is dry, add 1 more tablespoon heavy cream (better too wet than too dry). Divide the dough in half, form into disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
- Just before you are ready to roll out the dough, prepare the filling. Warm the golden syrup in a saucepan until it is runny, or microwave it for 1 minute. Combine the golden syrup, bread crumbs, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl and mix well.
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a floured surface, roll out the larger disk to an 11-inch circle. Fold it into quarters, brush off the excess flour with a pastry brush after each fold, then unfold it into a 9-inch tart pan, easing the sides gently into the pan and pressing the dough into the fluted edges. Trim the dough even with the rim. Roll out the second disk ⅛-inch thick. Cut the dough in long strips for the lattice topping.
- Scrape the filling into the prepared crust and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Lay half the strips of dough over the filling in one direction and the other half in the opposite direction to form a lattice. Trim the overhang. Gently brush the beaten egg over the lattice.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375F and bake another 25 minutes until the crust is browned and the filling puffs up in the centre. Serve warm with custard or whipped cream. Serves 8.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
Happy baking!
Did you make Harry Potter’s all time favourite dessert, treacle tart? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
And let’s get social! Find me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or Twitter.
Laura Hartley
Omg I had no idea there was a Harry Potter cookbook! Gotta get my hands on this ASAP 😮 This looks super tasty and I’ve never had it before – must try it!
Jolina
Me too and I must say treacle tart was a revelation. So good! And you’ve got to have that cookbook Laura! Well, you don’t HAVE to (lol) but it’s lovely 🙂 I cannot wait to make my own treats from the train!! 🙂
suchi
this is going to be my new favorite tart!!! Looks yum.. must try!
Jolina
Oh gosh me too! It’s so delicious and HP loves it so….:)
Cassie | Crumb Kitchen
YES. YES. YES! This is amazing (and not only because I love Harry Potter). Not sure if you’ve ever tried a Quebec sugar tart/pie, but this sounds pretty similar and it’s amazing. One day I’ll have that HP-themed party I’ve always wanted to host, and this will be on the menu. 😉
Jolina
Hi Cassie! No I haven’t…is it like butter tarts? Ok I’m totally ignorant lol! I do love this pie (though I must admit I was already wired to like it because of HP. Good thing it’s awesome!) That party would be so much fun! 🙂
Cassie @ Crumb Kitchen
Sort of like a butter tart, but less goopy and more thick. Kind of like a mix between butter tart filling and fudge? I’m doing a really bad job explaining this, but it’s delicious!
Jolina
LOL! It sounds delicious Cassie 🙂 Will look for those!
Anmol Singhi
Looks so tasty.
I want to have one right now.
Jolina
Thanks a lot Anmol! Hope you get the chance to try it 🙂
Keith Haney
Great idea. A tart and a good book. If I combined my favorite desert with a book it would be a lemon cream pie.
Jolina
Ok now I’m intrigued about what your favourite book is…because I love lemons too! 🙂 I hope they come up with a LOTR cookbook, I would totally make Hobitton or Elvish treats. Not sure about a Star Wars cookbook. They eat really strange things in that galaxy haha. Thanks Keith! have a wonderful day!
Tiffany VanSickle
This looks delicious! And so pretty, too!
Jolina
Thanks a lot Tiffany!
Christine - Jar Of Lemons
LOVE this idea! So fun! And looks yummy as ever! 🙂
Jolina
Hi Christine! Thanks! It was fun to make, even funner to eat 🙂
Dunja
This looks absolutely delicious, specially with ice cream on top. No wonder why it’s Harry’s favorite 😀
Jolina
Right?? I don’t remember if he ever ate it with ice cream though…might be a muggle thing lol! Thanks Dunja!
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food
I LOVE the Harry Potter movies!! I could literally watch them over and over again! I’ve never read the books, but now you’re making me want to!
How cool to have an unofficial Harry Potter cook book! And that was so nice of the author to allow you to showcase this awesome recipe! I’ve never heard of golden syrup before either, but I can imagine that it’s just great.
Oh my gosh! You’re so funny…I definitely won’t try bread crumbs in a can…never heard of it, but I’ll be sure to avoid 😉
I’ve always wondered about ‘Butter Beer’ that the characters drink. I just love that name for some reason. Well, I pretty much know the reason…’butter’ lol 😀
Great job on the tart, Jolina! And love the post 🙂
Jolina
Hi Dawn! Thanks! 🙂 I love the movies too (I’ve come to memorize the lines to the utter annoyance of my sister teehee). In my research I saw they do make a Canadian version of golden syrup but it’s only available in Western Canada. No fair! Haha. I’ve always wondered about butterbeer too. They always seem to have a grand time sipping it! Have a wonderful day!
Ana De- Jesus
Happy 36th birthday Harry Potter I can’t believe he is that old already. The treacle tart looks great even if you made a mistake the first time I think you channeled your inner wizard.
Jolina
IKR? Makes me feel like a thousand years old 🙂 And yes, my inner wizard has a lot to do with this tart seriously. It’s my first “successful” homemade crust! 🙂 Thanks Ana!
Ratisha Goyal
It is so tempting. Honestly, heading to my kitchen to give it a try. Pinned it too. 🙂
Jolina
Hi Ratisha! Hope you like it. And thanks for the pin 🙂
Krysten(@themomnoms)
You are pretty much my favorite person ever!
‘Yur a wizard ‘arry’
Happy Birthday Harry! I’ll buy the first round of butter beer!
Jolina
Aw thanks Krysten! I’ve been hearing about HP parties in this thread. We should totally have a virtual one 🙂 Cheers!