Treacle apple tart

• pack sweet shortcrust pastry↗375g g
• flour↗a little

  for dusting

• golden syrup↗600g g

  plus a little extra

• fresh white breadcrumbs↗225g g
• zest and juice 2 lemons
• large eggs↗3

  broken up with a fork

• small eating apples5

  – choose your favourites

• custard

  vanilla ice cream or clotted cream, to serve

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Roll out the pastry on a flour-dusted surface until big enough to line a 23cm fluted tart tin, about 3cm deep. Lift the pastry into the tin to line, then cover and chill for 30 mins.

2. 2

   Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Scrunch up a big sheet of baking parchment and use to line the pastry before filling with baking beans (or dried lentils or rice). Bake for 20 mins, then remove the beans and parchment and bake for 10-12 mins more until the pastry is golden and biscuity.

3. 3

   Meanwhile, put the golden syrup, breadcrumbs, zest from both lemons and juice from 1, and the eggs in a big mixing bowl. Peel 2 of the apples and coarsely grate into the bowl. Mix everything together.

4. 4

   Reduce oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Use an apple corer to core the 3 remaining apples, then slice thinly into rings. Toss the slices with the remaining lemon juice to stop them from browning. Tip the syrupy crumbs into the tin and arrange just enough of the apple slices in an overlapping ring. Brush an extra 1-2 tbsp syrup over the apple slices until they’re covered, then return the tart to the oven and bake for 55 mins–1 hr until the exposed filling feels set to the touch.

5. 5

   Cool for 10 mins in the tin, then carefully remove, drizzle a little more syrup over the top and serve warm with custard, ice cream or dollops of clotted cream.