Treacle tart is a traditional British dessert. The earliest known recipe for the dessert is from English author Mary Jewry in her cookbooks from the late 19th century.[1]
It is prepared using shortcrust pastry, with a thick filling made of golden syrup (also known as light treacle), breadcrumbs, and lemon juice or zest. The tart is normally served hot or warm with a scoop of clotted cream, ordinary cream, ice cream, or custard. Some modern recipes add cream, eggs, or both in order to create a softer filling.
Treacle bread[2] is a homemade bread popular in Ireland and is similar to soda bread but with the addition of treacle.
In the Agatha Christie murder mystery novel 4.50 from Paddington, a homeowner's son, home visiting from boarding school with a friend, is said to be particularly fond of treacle tart.[4]
This dessert is mentioned in the 1968 British fantasy film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The villainous Child Catcher, in an attempt to lure out the children from the basement, calls out that he is giving away free sweets, including treacle tarts.[5]
In the Harry Potter book series, Harry's favourite food is treacle tart, a dessert often found at the Hogwarts feasts.[6]
In Season 3 Episode 1 of Downton Abbey, the dessert is featured at the servant's lunchtime, where Carson exclaims, "That treacle tart hit the spot, thank you Mrs. Patmore".[8]
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