There are two reasons this recipe for Easy Spiced Treacle Tart came about. The first (and lets face it probably the most obvious to those in the know) is that Beth’s gluten free bread fell apart.
I was left with a jigsaw puzzle of a loaf and refused to throw it away, so what to do? Well, I had a hankering for treacle tart after seeing some in the chilled cabinet of a supermarket a week or two before and so treacle tart seemed a fitting destination for this poor unfulfilled loaf of gluten free bread!
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What’s the second reason I hear you cry?
I love the lead up to any festive season and being a food blogger means that I pay particular attention to what’s new across social media….I have to say, this year I’ve been underwhelmed by NEW ideas for Easter bakes and treats…. mind you, my most popular Easter gluten and dairy free free recipe is doing very well this year so that said, follow the link to my Supersize Cream Egg recipe. This was first published in 2017 so maybe we don’t need new ideas every year, and the old ones are the best?
Oops, I’ve gone off on a tangent again haven’t I? This year I decided that my craving for treacle tart could easily be spiced up a bit and so the Spiced Treacle Tart was born (I simply can’t help it, I have to tamper with a recipe and experiment!) The lovely thing about this recipe is that you can easily omit the spices and/or hot cross buns and hey-presto you have a Traditional English Treacle Tart!
How do I make this Spiced Treacle Tart using Hot Cross Buns?
super simple my dear reader. To make an Easter themed Treacle Tart, simply blitz 4 hot cross buns into breadcrumbs. On average 4 buns will give you 300g of breadcrumbs. That’s literally it – simple!
You can purchase gluten free Hot Cross Buns in all supermarkets in the lead up to the Easter period. Not all are vegan too, so if this is an issue for you be mindful when adding to your shopping basket. For this recipe I used Just Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns that are also vegan (egg and dairy free, as I am intolerant to both).
If you want to make your own Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns then I can recommend Laura’s recipe over on My Gluten Free Guide. These are not vegan though and I’ve not tried making them yet with a dairy alternative and flaxseed egg so if you do make them vegan let me know how you get on.
How do I make this Spiced Treacle Tart without Hot Cross Buns?
This too is fairly straight forward you just use 300g of plain gluten free bread crumbs and add the spice. This does also give you control of what you do and don’t add. For example, the Hot Cross bun version obviously has raisins in it. With this adapted version you can omit the raisins and just keep the candied peel, or leave that out too and just add the spice.
Don’t be afraid to play with the recipe, you really can make this to your tastes.
Traditional Easter Spices are Cassia Oil which is a form of cinnamon extract that has been developed to take away the bitterness of the bark. You find cloves in a lot of Easter cooking too. So to add the spice element to your plain white gluten free bread crumbs you simply add cinnamon (preferably sweet cinnamon if you can) and clove, but use the clove sparingly, it’s strong and can knock your socks off!
How to make a flax egg
to make 1 flax egg you need the following ingredients:
– 1tbsp ground flax seed
– 3tbsp water
– 1tsp psyllium husk (optional but does add elasticity to baking)
simply add all ingredients to a glass and stir before measuring out the other recipe ingredients, by the time you come to use your ‘egg’ mixture it will have thickened to a frog-spawn consistency (thicker if you added psyllium husk)
Then just add to your baking as you would an egg. For 2 eggs double the ingredients but note that recipes that require more than two eggs may fail due to lack of support in the structure.
Other recipes you might like to try
Simple Spiced Gluten Free Treacle Tart
A simple twist on the original traditional treacle tart recipe to spice this traditional favourite up just in time for Easter, the perfect way to use up those unwanted slices of bread or go all out and use Hot Cross Buns instead
- 200 g gluten free plain flour
- 50 g caster sugar
- 50 g white vegetable fat I use Trex or Crisp n Dry
- 50 g butter I use Flora vegan butter blocks
- 1 egg I use a flaxseed egg (1tbsp flax/3tbsp water)
- 300 g gluten free Hot Cross Buns 4 buns, use a vegan brand if necessary
- 200 g golden syrup
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
To make the pastry weigh the flour, butter and fat into a large bowl, using a pastry cutter work the fat into the flour to make breadcrumbs
add your flaxseed egg: 1tbsp flaxseed, 1tsp psyllium husk powder (optional) and 3tbsp water.
Give the mix a stir and turn out onto the kitchen worksurface and bring the pastry together. Roll into a ball and pop into a Tupperware container and pop in the fridge whilst you set to work on the treacle tart filling.
Add the golden syrup and sugar to a large saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.
Remove from the heat and add all the remaining filling ingredients and stir until all the breadcrumbs have been fully coated in the syrup mixture. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.
Now get your pastry out of the fridge and work it for a minute or two to prevent cracks. Roll into a large enough round to line a 8 inch loose based flan tin. Prick the bottom of the pastry shell with a fork to encourage an even bake
Pop the tin into the fridge while you set to work making pastry shapes of your choice to decorate – you should have a decent amount of pastry to do this.
Now the tart filling will have cooled enough to tip into the pastry shell. remove tin from fridge.
Tip the treacle tart mixture into the pastry case and smooth to the edges with the back of a spoon, add your decorations if using them and pop into a preheated oven at 200°C | 180°C fan | 395°F | Gas 6 for 25-30 minutes or until a delicate golden brown.
Serve immediately with custard or cream or cool to enjoy later.
For the plain white bread version
300g plain white gluten free breadcrumbs
50g candied peel (optional)
1tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp ground clove
instead of 200g golden syrup and 100g caster sugar, use 200g of both as normal plain bread will not be sweet.
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— Life’s a drama, gluten free doesn’t have to be
I need treacle tart now. Haven’t made one in years, but you’ve given me a hankering. Interesting idea to use hot cross buns, but a good one.
Thanks for linking up with #CookBlogShare
I love treacle tart and I think the addition of spicy hot cross buns is very clever. This is a great bake.
Thank you Lesley, it is certainly a lovely alternative to the traditional Treacle Tart
Oh wow – I haven’t had treacle tart for years! And this one looks so yum!! Eb x
I know, it’s a bit of a childhood memory for me…I seem to remember having it at my Gran’s a lot when I was a child.
Oh my goodness this looks so amazing!! I’m gonna make it tonight.
#brilliantblogposts
I NEED you to make me this!!
I can’t remember the last tie I ate treacle tart. Love the idea of adding some seasonal spice. It looks so delicious…… Bet it’s delicious with a huge scoop of whipped coconut cream! x
Ooh yes! I reckon you’re right there, bugger! going to have to make another one now to put that idea to the test…oh well, needs must ;-)
Oh my goodness my family would love this, perfect with either custard, or ice cream or no doubt both. I shall have to give this a try at our next family gathering and we can all have it, yeh :)
Lovely Chloe, I promise they won’t be disappointed!
Looks gorgeous and sounds delicious with the spices and the lemon zest in it! Thank you for bringing your lovely recipe to #CookBlogShare
It’s subtle but it’s there and I love to spice up recipes…in this case, quite literally!