Treacle, porter, oatmeal & apple tart

I love treacle tart made with apples (usually referred to as Norfolk treacle tart) as the sharpness is great against the sweetness of the golden syrup. Chef Richard Corrigan makes a golden syrup and honey tart with stout, so I’ve incorporated his idea and used a fruity porter here. It lends a bitter and slightly spicy undertow.

SERVES 8 PREP 40 mins plus 1 hr

15 mins chilling COOK 1 hr 15 mins

MORE EFFORT V 250g plain lour, plus extra for

dusting

125g cold butter, cut into cubes 50g icing sugar

1 2 egg yolks (freeze the whites for

another recipe)

For the illing

2 large bramley apples, peeled and coursley grated (200g prepped weight)

100ml porter (I use St Peter’s

Old-style Porter)

100g soft brown breadcrumbs 25g oats

1 lemon, zested orange, zested

2 tbsp lemon juice

250g golden syrup

50g butter

3 tbsp cream

2 large eggs, lightly beaten whipped double cream, to serve

1 Blitz the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor. Add 1 egg yolk and blitz again. The pastry should come together into a ball. If not, add the second yolk and 1-2 tsp cold water. Shape the pastry into a disc. Wrap the disc and leave to rest in the fridge for about 45 mins.

2 Roll the pastry out into a circle on a lightly floured piece of baking parchment. It needs to be about 5cm bigger than a 25cm tart tin with a loose-bottomed base.

3 Use the rolling pin to lift the pastry and line the tin with it. Push it into the sides of the tin all the way round, then cut o the excess. Chill in the freezer for 30 mins.

4 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Fill the case with crumpled baking parchment and baking beans, then blind-bake the pastry case for 20 mins. Remove the beans and paper, then bake for another 15 mins. Take the tart case out and leave to cool in the tin. Increase the heat to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

5 Meanwhile, for the filling, put the apples into a saucepan with the porter. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-8 mins until the porter has reduced by about half. Put this in a bowl with the breadcrumbs, oats, citrus zests and lemon juice.

6 Warm the golden syrup in a pan over a low heat with the butter and a pinch of salt. Leave to cool, then whisk in the cream and eggs. Mix this into the rest of the filling.

7 Spoon the filling into the tart case, then bake for 40 mins, or until the surface is dark golden and the filling seems just set when you press the centre (it will continue to set as the tart cools). Serve warm with some whipped double cream.

PER SERVING 502 kcals • fat 23g • saturates 12g • carbs 64g • sugars 34g • ibre 3g • protein 8g • salt 0.8g