Treacle tart recipe: James Martin's golden syrup classic
This treacle tart recipe follows James Martin's method, a shortcrust case packed with a breadcrumb-thickened golden syrup filling that sets glossy and sliceable, not runny.
Treacle tart is misnamed: the filling is golden syrup, not treacle, bound with breadcrumbs so it sets firm enough to cut into clean wedges rather than oozing across the plate.
James Martin has served versions of this tart across his television work and his Desserts cookbook, built on a short, sweet pastry case and a filling that leans on lemon juice to stop the syrup from tasting flat. The breadcrumbs are the technical hinge: they soak up the syrup during baking and hold the filling together once it cools.
Ingredients
The breadcrumbs swell as they sit, thickening the mixture so it bakes to a set, sliceable filling.
- 250g plain flour
- 125g cold butter, cubed
- 60g caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- Pinch of salt
- 675g golden syrup
- 125g fresh white breadcrumbs
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Method
- Rub the flour, butter and salt together until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs, then work in the sugar and egg until the dough just comes together. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes; a cold, rested dough holds its shape in the oven instead of shrinking down the sides of the tin.
- Roll the pastry and line a 20cm loose-bottomed tart tin, leaving a slight overhang. Chill for another 30 minutes, then line with baking parchment and baking beans and bake blind at 190°C for 10 minutes. Blind baking sets the base before the wet filling goes in, which is what keeps the bottom from turning soggy.
- Warm the golden syrup gently so it loosens, then stir in the breadcrumbs, eggs and lemon juice until evenly combined. The breadcrumbs swell as they sit, thickening the mixture so it bakes to a set, sliceable filling rather than a liquid one.
- Pour the filling into the part-baked case and bake at 180°C for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is set at the edges with only a slight wobble in the centre. Pulling it out at the wobble stage stops the filling from turning rubbery as it finishes setting off the heat.
- Cool the tart in its tin for at least 20 minutes before slicing. The filling firms further as it cools, which is what gives a clean cut rather than a collapsing wedge.
Serve it the way Yorkshire kitchens do
Martin pairs the tart with custard rather than cream, a combination that cuts the sweetness of the syrup instead of doubling down on it. A squeeze of extra lemon juice into the custard does the same job if the filling tastes too one-note on its own.
Can it be made a day ahead? Yes. The tart keeps two days at room temperature under a cloth, and the filling firms up further overnight, a texture some kitchens prefer to the fresh-baked wobble, the same unfussy repertoire behind this week's news on Martin's Manchester restaurant.
