Either you like blackstrap molasses or you don't. If you fall into the second category, it might be a good idea to return here and look at the first post I wrote about the stolen tarts from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. (That version was based on the 2010 film by Tim Burton, in which the notorious tarts are filled with red fruit jam.) If you don't have a problem with the bittersweet taste of molasses, read on.
Perhaps you remember how in chapter XI of the beloved story, the Queen of Heart's treacle tarts disappear. Treacle being the English name for molasses. What you may not know is that 19th century treacle tarts had little to do with the modern English recipe of the same name, which is based on golden syrup. At least not the ones that Alice Liddell (who inspired the book) and her sisters would have enjoyed because golden syrup was not yet marketed by Abram Lyle & Sons in 1865. Now if you look at cookery books of that period, you will find that treacle tarts made with blackstrap molasses were a popular children's dessert.
In Warne's model cookery and housekeeping book (1868), Mary Jewry explains in brief the making of treacle tart for children: "Time, half an hour to three quarters. 2344a. Paste; treacle as required. Line a flat dish with paste, a layer of treacle over, then two more thin layers of paste and treacle. The paste should be cut with paste-cutter in strips in the middle, so that the treacle can boil over it. Bake." Also in her book, there are several recipes for 'making paste and pastries', including 'transparent crust', 'light paste', and 'rice paste' which might be used for tartshells. In the first two cases, three quarters of a pound of butter is melted and cooled, beaten with an egg, and kneaded with a pound of flour.
TREACLE TARTS
This version uses Mary Jewry's recipe for "Light Paste, for Tartets, &c." (divided by 3). I personally find the combination of buttery dough with blackstrap molasses irresistible but it's a good idea to start with just a few tartlets because not everyone likes old-fashioned desserts. The following recipe makes 2 tartlets, baked in 10cm/4'' mini tart pans.
I n g r e d i e n t s
150g all-purpose flour
100g butter, room temperature
1 egg yolk
blackstrap molasses
M e t h o d
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease two mini tart pans. 2. Combine the flour with the butter and mix with your fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Add half of the egg yolk and keep mixing. 3. Lightly whisk the remaining egg yolk and set aside. 4. Shape the dough into a ball, divide into six parts and roll them out into discs, fitting the size of the pans. 5. Cover the bottom of each pan with a layer of dough, trim the edges if liked, place 1tsp molasses on the centre, top with another layer of dough and seal the edges very well, brushing with egg yolk. Repeat once more for each tartlet. (You will end up with 3 layers of dough and two layers of filling.) 6. Slash the top with a knife and bake for about 25 minutes.
N o t e
Unless the paste is sealed very well or if -like me- you are tempted to double the amount of molasses, part of the filling will boil over the edges, run out, caramelize and burn.
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