Treacle Tart

I've started reading the Harry Potter book series. Perhaps I am behind the times in this regard, but I've found as I read the book, there are numerous references to food. In book one author J.K. Rowling writes about a banquet feast the students attend at Hogwarts school. She writes,

"A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs and jam dough-nuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, and rice pudding..."

I found after reading this delicious description it not only made me hungry but curious as well to the details of one particular item, treacle tart. Treacle tart is a dessert made with treacle, a dark syrup similar to molasses. The tart also contains golden syrup, which is derived from cane sugar. Both are british ingredients and can be found at specialty grocery stores. The filling of the tart is made with these two key ingredients in addition to lemon juice, eggs, and bread crumbs. I could not find the golden syrup at two specialty food import stores so I substituted corn syrup for golden syrup. I was able to locate the treacle, however. The filling is similar to the consistency of a pecan pie or a shoofly pie. The crust can be made using shortbread or sweet pie crust. I used pie crust. Having no idea how it would taste, the result was surprising! I expected it to be very dense and heavy in consistency and very rich. It was sweet but much lighter than expected. It tasted of sweet molasses with a hint of licorice and lemon. I served the tart with vanilla ice cream. Enjoyed by Ben and friends, it was a fun way to share a dessert many had read about and some had heard of, but never tried, as well as celebrate Ben's life. Happy Birthday, Ben!