Sticky apple treacle tart! This lovely autumnal tart is so good that I have no doubt I will making it every autumn.
It’s the perfect mix of sticky treacle and caramelised apples, which sets the tone nicely for October and Halloween. Why I have not thought to combine an apple pie with a treacle tart before now is a complete mystery to me. Its also a great shame that I’ve been missing out on this master piece of a dessert for all this time. It really is wonderful and I definitely need to make several more of these tarts and get a couple in the freezer.
Desserts are always a good thing to focus on in October as there’s still plenty of September fruit kicking about for apple crumble, plum and rhubarb crumble, spiced pumpkin muffins, rhubarb galette, Yorkshire parkin, plum and rhubarb crumble, fig and apple chutney ....the list goes on. And a nice warm dessert with ice cream or custard is just what is needed once the temperature starts to fall. When it comes to warming comfort food, this dessert does not disappoint. Check out my homemade, no churn ice creams if you want to make this tart extra special.
A little effort is required if the whole thing is going to be made from scratch.
However, this sticky apple treacle deliciousness becomes really quick and simple if you don’t mind using shop bought sweet pastry. If you do want to take on the challenge of making your own pastry, then there are a few simple rules that can help make it perfect:
- Try and keep all the ingredients as cold as possible. chill everything first and when combining only use your finger tips and not your palms, which will introduce more heat.
- Chill the pastry once its made and chill once again after its been rolled and lined in the tin.
- Blind bake before adding the filling and always fill the baking beans or flour up to the top so the pastry at the sides of the tin is held firmly in place
- Save any off cuts of pastry as they can be used later on to patch up any holes (no-one will know!!)
Once you have a pastry case ready to go, just pile in some stewed apples, followed by a treacle and breadcrumb filling and pop the whole thing into the oven. It usually takes around an hour to bake through, but it’s definitely worth the wait.
Just before the recipe.....another pizza oven update.
Very exciting news; actual pizzas have been made!! I know that summer is over but we don't care - the summer has been spent with us lovingly building our fabulous cob oven and we can now enjoy our pizzas whilst huddled around the oven for warmth.
The oven itself still has a few bits to finish off; like a final outer layer to make it look pretty and a roof over the whole thing to provide a bit of protection from the winter weather. But as it stands, it can function and so we aren't going to let a last final layer and the lack of a roof stop us from making some proper pizzas!! and my goodness they are proper. I will be sharing everything about our cob oven build and pizza making recipes on here very soon!! There are so many uses for this oven and I can't wait to get cooking up some amazing wood fired meals. But for now we'll just be having fun practising our pizzas. First attempt wasn't too shabby:
Best Sunday pizza afternoon ever!!
📖 Recipe
Sticky Apple Treacle Tart
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoon ice cold water
- 100 g unsalted butter cubed
- 100 g icing sugar
- 220 g plain flour
For the stewed apple filling
- 400 g baking apples peeled and chopped
- 50 g caster sugar
- 20 g unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon water
For the treacle filling
- 425 g golden syrup
- 425 double cream
- 2 eggs
- 110 g breadcrumbs
- 75 g ground almonds
For the topping
- 1 baking apple
Equipment
- 10 inch tart/flan tin with loose base
Instructions
- Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees C
For the pastry
- whisk together the 2 egg yolks and 2 tablespoon of water then place to one side. In a bowl soften the butter using your fingers and then sieve in the icing sugar. Still using your fingers mix the icing sugar and butter to form a paste. Next sieve in the flour and rub all the ingredients together with the tips of your fingers to create a breadcrumb consistency.
- Gradually add the egg yolks to the flour mix using a "claw" shaped hand to combine. The pastry should start to come together and eventually form into a ball of pastry. Wrap the pastry in cling film and place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
For the stewed apples
- Whilst the pastry is chilling make up the stewed apple filling.
- In a large pan melt the butter then add the apple, sugar and water.Mix well and simmer on a medium heat for 5 minutes. After minutes check if the apples have begun to soften. Continue to simmer until they are soft enough to mash, add more sugar and water if it starts to look to dry. Once mashed continue to cook to ensure any larger lumps have softened. The finished product shouldn't bit too wet as this will cause the base of the tart to go soggy. Simmer for a little longer if necessary. Spoon the stewed apples into a dish and set to one side to cool.
Preparing the pastry case.
- Before rolling out the chilled pastry, prepared the tart tin by rubbing a thin layer of butter over the inner surfaces and then dust with icing sugar.
- Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin then carefully roll out the pastry to around 3mm thick. As you are rolling move the pastry around by 90 degrees every few rolls and occasionally flip. This should ensure the pastry doesn't stick to the work surface and will create a more circular shape.
- Once the pastry is rolled out, use the rolling pin to drape the pastry over the tin. Carefully push the pastry into the corners of the tin and into the sides of the fluted edges. Once you're happy trim using a knife and re wrap the excess in cling and save in the fridge for any patching up that might be needed later on.
- In order to ensure the pastry is cooked through the pastry case must be blind baked before the filling is added. This can be done with baking paper and baking beans or by placing cling film over the pastry and then filling with flour up to the rim and wrapping the over hanging cling film over the top of the flour. Place the pastry in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. Watch that the pastry doesn't start to go too dark. Check under the flour or beans to see if the pastry has dried out, then remove from the oven, keep in the tart tin and set to one side. If any holes have appeared or if bits of pastry have broken off. Simply patch up with the saved pastry cut offs from earlier and pop back in the over for another couple of minutes.
For the treacle filling
- In a small pan gently heat the heat the syrup to loosen up, then leave to one side for 5 minutes to cool slightly. While the syrup is cooling mix the cream and 2 eggs together in a bowl. Pour the syrup into the cream mixture and stir well. (NOTE: if the syrup is still too hot it will start to cook the eggs). In a separate bowl mix the breadcrumbs and ground almonds and then make a well. Pour the syrup mixture into the well and mix until smooth.
Putting together the tart
- Spoon the cooled stewed apples into the middle of the pastry case and then spread evenly over the base. Next pour the treacle filling over the apples and fill to just below the rim of the pastry case. For the topping slice up another baking apple into segments and arrange carefully in the top of the treacle filling.
- Place the tart in the middle of the oven and bake for 1 hour, checking at 40 and 50 minutes. The tart will be done when it appears to be just set, it may still have a slight wobble to t in the centre. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the tin.
- Serve with ice-cream, custard, or cream
Nutrition
**Estimated nutritional information per serving and per 100g of sticky apple treacle tart. Refer to my Nutrition Information Guide to find out more about how this is calculated and the sources used.
Sammie
I have just seen this scrumptious tart on Twitter and had to see how it is made. Absolutely delicious. Proper Autumnal food. Pinned!
Debbie
Thanks so much Sammie!! So glad you stopped by to take a closer look! and yes - I agree - proper autumnal. Its a lovely one to make on drizzly, autumn sunday afternoon 🙂