Harry Potter's Treacle Tart

Step 1

Use a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients.

Step 2

Cut the butter into small cubes, place them in one layer on a plate, and put them in the freezer for about 15 minutes, they should not be frozen but get really cold.

Step 3

In the meantime place the flour, sugar, and salt in the food processor/stand mixer. Mix well.

Step 4

Add the butter cubes and process shortly, about 10 pulses, but it depends on the machine you are using. The dough should just resemble breadcrumbs.

Step 5

Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the very cold water, and pulse a few times again until the dough comes together. Add the third tablespoon of water if necessary, sometimes I do add it, sometimes not, it depends on how exactly you weigh the flour and sometimes on the brand of the flour itself. The dough should hold together when you press a little bit of it between your fingers.

Step 6

Form a ball, divide it into two discs, one a bit larger than the other, and wrap the discs tightly in plastic foil.

Step 7

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Step 8

Remove the crust from the bread, weigh the 110 g/ 4 oz needed and make breadcrumbs in your food processor.

Step 9

Zest and juice the lemon.

Step 10

Place the golden syrup into a small saucepan and warm gently until it is runny, it will not take long.

Step 11

Combine the syrup, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, and lemon juice very well.

Step 12

My pie dish has a diameter of 23 cm/ 9 inches, so I rolled the dough into a circle of about 26 cm/ 10 inches in diameter. It is loose-bottomed (like a springform), which makes things easier for me when removing the pie from the form. A regular dish works as well, but you will have to be more careful when taking the tart out of the form. Or use a ceramic pie dish, so you can cut and serve the tart directly from the dish.

Step 13

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius/ 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 14

On a lightly floured surface roll out the larger disc into a circle large enough to cover the bottom and the edges of your pie form.

Step 15

Place the rolled-out pastry sheet into your dish, pressing the dough into the fluted edges of the pan.

Step 16

Roll out the second disc of pastry into a circle of about 3 mm/ 1/8 inch thickness and a diameter of about 23 cm/ 9 inch.

Step 17

Cut the pastry into long strips for the lattice topping.

Step 18

If you want to decorate the treacle tart to resemble Harry Potter, cut out the glasses, the scar, and the mouth. You will have leftover pastry in this case. You can cut it into biscuits and bake them separately until golden. Or freeze the leftover pastry for making a small pie some other time.

Step 19

Pour the filling into the prepared pie dish and level the top. Lay half of the strips over the filling in one direction and the other half of the strips in the other direction to form a lattice. Trim the edges.

Step 20

Mix the egg and the water and brush the lattice and the edges of the pie with the mixture.

Step 21

Bake the tart for 10 minutes at 200 degrees/ 400 degrees Fahrenheit, then reduce the heat to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking for another 25 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the filling puffs up in the center. The filling should still be slightly jiggly.