ecclefechan tart

ecclefechan tart with ginger cream

With this and empire chicken, Jamie’s Great Britain is finally earning it’s keep in my house! This recipe is so right for December, as the filling feels very Christmassy with citrus bursts and mincemeat-style fruit. It’s like an Eccles cake in tart form. The cream marbled with treacle is to die for.

Jamie puts loads of whisky with his – I don’t really have it knocking about the house so I grabbed the nearest warming spirit I could find, which was Southern Comfort. Not quite the same but more or less did the job. The house filled with a sweet boozy aroma when cooking! Added nothing to the taste though. Think I’d use pre-made pastry next time.

Ecclefechan tart (serves 8 – 12):

For the pastry:

250g plain flour

125g unsalted butter

Vanilla salt

50ml whisky

For the filling:

150g unsalted butter

150g light brown sugar

3 eggs

150ml double cream

1 tablespoon black treacle

300g mixed dried fruit

1 teaspoon finely chopped stem ginger

1 lemon

1 orange

To serve:

150ml double cream

1 tablespoon stem ginger syrup

1 teaspoon black treacle

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Rub the flour, butter and pinch of salt together and add enough spirit to combine to a fudgy pastry. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until needed.
  3. Roll out the pastry to 5mm and line a 25cm tin with it. Prick all over, line with baking beans and blind bake for 10 minutes, then remove the beans and cook for 5 more minutes until golden.
  4. Meanwhile cream the butter and sugar together and then incorporate the eggs. Mix in the cream.
  5. Drizzle a tablespoon of treacle all over the base, top with the fruit then grate over the orange and lemon zest. Top with the cream mixture and bake for 30 minutes until set.
  6. Whisk the remaining cream until it holds its shape and then combine the syrup. With one flourish of the whisk introduce the treacle to get a lovely marbling effect.
  7. The tart is best after it’s had half an hour out of the oven. Serve with the cream.

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