Making treacle tart from scratch is best done with a traditional recipe, and James Rix, owner of The Fox and Hound Hunsdon, has the perfect formula. The Hertfordshire restaurant has an esteemed status, as featured in the Michelin Guide, and celebrates its 20th anniversary this October.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, the owner and award-winning chef James Rix revealed his expertly crafted recipe for treacle tart, as featured on his restaurant menu.

He described the tart as “sweet and tangy”, noting that it “goes great with hot custard, clotted cream, ice cream or all three”.

What’s more, it’s incredibly simple to follow – James suggested swapping ’00’ flour for plain white and resting the pastry in the fridge for just one hour if you don’t have time to leave it overnight.

Plus, it serves a whopping 12 people – perfect for a weekend bake.

Traditional treacle tart recipe

Ingredients

For the pastry

300g soft unsalted butter

100g ground almonds

150g caster sugar

Three egg yolks

325g ‘00’ flour

Cold water to bind

Filling

500g golden syrup

One tbsp dark treacle

Juice & grated zest of one lemon

One tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground nutmeg

250g Brioche/ Croissant breadcrumbs

Three eggs

100ml double cream

Method

First, make the pastry. Cream the butter and sugar together until white and fluffy then lightly beat together the egg yolks, then add them to the mixture a little at a time to prevent curdling.

Add the ground almonds, sift in the flour and mix until just incorporated. Use a small amount of ice-cold water to bind everything together. James noted: “The pastry will be very soft, so wrap in clingfilm and leave in the fridge for one hour, or preferably overnight.”

Take the pastry out of the fridge and let it soften at room temperature, then cut it in half and roll out one piece on a lightly floured work surface to about 3mm thick (you won’t need the other piece but it will keep well in the freezer).

Put it in a 30 cm loose-bottomed tart tin and chill for one to two hours in the fridge. Fill with baking beans and cook the pastry case in a preheated oven at 160C for 10 minutes.

Remove the cling film and beans and return the pastry case to the oven until it is a good golden colour all over. Remove from oven and leave to cool.

For the filling, warm the golden syrup and dark treacle in a pan, then add lemon juice and zest, ground ginger, ground nutmeg and breadcrumbs to the pan, stir well, remove from heat and leave to cool for approximately 10 minutes.

Whisk together the three eggs and 100ml double cream and add to the mixture. Now pour the filling into the tart case and bake at 160c for 15 minutes, then 140C for 20 minutes.

Leave the tart to cool and set, then slice up and serve with your choice of clotted cream, cream or ice cream.