Treacle Tart

1. First make the shortcrust pastry. Measure the flour into a large bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs (or use a food processor). Add about three tablespoons of cold water and mix to a firm dough, wrap in cling film and chill for about 20 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 with a heavy baking tray inside to heat up. Grease a deep 18cm loose-bottomed fluted flan tin with butter.
3. Take about 150g of pastry from the main ball and set it aside for the lattice top.
4. Roll the rest of the pastry out thinly on a lightly floured surface and line the tin. Prick the base with a fork so it doesn't rise during baking.
5. Lay the reserved lattice pastry on cling film and roll it out thinly. Egg wash it and chill it in the fridge (the cling film makes it easier to move). Don't cut it into strips yet, and don't egg wash the strips once they are on the tart, as it will drip into the treacle.
6. For the filling, heat the syrup gently in a large pan but do not let it boil. Once melted, stir in the breadcrumbs, lemon juice and zest (use less lemon for a milder citrus note). If the mixture looks runny, add a few more breadcrumbs.
7. Pour the syrup mixture into the lined tin and level the surface.
8. Take the reserved pastry from the fridge and cut it into long strips 1cm wide, each longer than the tin. Egg wash the pastry edge in the tin and weave the strips into a lattice over the filling, leaving them hanging over the edge.
9. With the lattice in place, press down along the tin edge with your hands to trim the strips for a neat finish.
10. Bake on the preheated tray in the hot oven for about 10 minutes, until the pastry starts to colour, then lower the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 (cover with foil if the lattice is darkening too quickly).
11. Bake for a further 25-30 minutes, until the pastry is golden-brown and the filling has set.
12. Take it out and leave it to firm up in the tin. Serve warm or cold.

Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen

• Chill the pastry before baking so it keeps its crispness and holds its shape rather than shrinking.
• Warm the syrup gently before adding the breadcrumbs and lemon, so everything mixes through evenly.
• Lemon is what stops the filling being too sweet, so don't skip it; it really brightens the whole thing.
• If the filling looks loose, stir in a few extra breadcrumbs to firm it up.