New Fashioned Treacle Tart with Mascarpone Ice Cream

 

I set out to make a simple mascarpone ice cream today. But it was a bit too simple and after the 2 minutes it took me to mix the ice cream and 20 minutes to churn it, I stood in the kitchen twiddling my thumbs. There was just not enough fiddling and faffing in the ice cream making, and my hands needed more to do. So I made this lush tart to go with. I love it when I under promise and over deliver.



New Fashioned Treacle Tart with Mascarpone Ice Cream
adapted from here

For the Mascarpone Ice Cream:
250g (9 oz) mascarpone
100g (3 1/2 oz) caster sugar
pinch fine sea salt
150ml (5 1/2 fl oz) milk
225ml (8 fl oz) cream
1/2 vanilla pod, seeds scraped

For the Pastry:
125g (4 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, softened
50g (1 3/4 oz) caster sugar
pinch of fine sea salt
125g (4 1/2 oz) plain flour
80g (2 3/4 oz) shortbread biscuits, blitzed to fine crumbs in a food processor
1 egg

For the Filling:
120g (4oz) unsalted butter
340g (12 fl oz) golden syrup
90g (3 oz) brioche, blitzed to fine crumbs in a food processor
50ml (1 3/4 fl oz) cream
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 egg

Make the Mascarpone Ice Cream:
Put all the ice cream ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour into an ice cream machine and churn according to manufacturers instructions. Spoon into a freezer-proof container and store in the freezer until you are ready to serve.

Make the Pastry:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the salt, flour and shortbread crumbs and mix on low speed until just combined. Add the egg and mix until just incorporated. It will be a sticky dough, not unlike cookie dough. Spoon it out onto a piece of plastic wrap and wrap it up tightly. Chill in the refrigerator for at least on hour.

Preheat the oven to 170C (340F).

Take the pastry out of the refrigerator and crumble it into a 23 cm (9 in) loose-bottomed tart pan. Press the crumble into the sides and base of the pan, making sure there are no holes or cracks. Trim off any excess pastry.

Line the pastry with baking paper, pour in some baking weights and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the weights and paper and return the tart to the oven to cake for a further 5 - 10 minutes, or until cooked through and golden. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Reduce the oven temperature to 160C (325F).

Make the Filling:
Melt the butter in a medium pan over medium heat until it turns nut-brown. Remove from the heat and add the golden syrup. Stir to combined. Add the brioche crumbs and whisk in the cream, salt and egg and leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Pour the cooled filling into the cooked tart case and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 140C (275F) and cook for a further 20 minutes. The filling should be just set, and should have a slight wobble in the centre.  Leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Serve with scoops of Mascarpone Ice Cream.