Treacle & chestnut tart with spiced quince burnt butter ice-cream recipe (2024)

Ingredients

50 gm unsalted butter, coarsely chopped

2 eggs

35 ml pouring cream

350 gm golden syrup

50 gm fine breadcrumbs from soft brown bread

50 gm chestnuts, finely chopped (see note)

Burnt butter ice-cream

225 gm softened butter

350 ml skim milk

100 ml pouring cream

100 gm liquid glucose

6 egg yolks

100 gm caster sugar

Spiced quince

660 gm caster sugar (3 cups)

500 ml red wine

10 black peppercorns

3 each star anise and cloves

2 cinnamon quills

2 fresh bay leaves

1 thyme sprig

Thinly peeled rind of 1 lemon

2 large quince (about 330gm each), cored, quartered, peel and trimmings reserved

Sweet pastry

250 gm plain flour, sieved, plus extra for dusting

125 gm cold butter, coarsely chopped

40 gm pure icing sugar, sieved (¼ cup)

1 egg

Method

Main

1.For burnt butter ice-cream, cook butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat until browned (6-8 minutes), remove from heat, set aside. Meanwhile, combine milk, cream and glucose in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk yolks and sugar in a large bowl until pale and creamy (1-2 minutes). Add milk mixture, whisking continuously, return mixture to pan and whisk continuously over low heat until mixture thickly coats the back of a wooden spoon (7-10 minutes). Remove from heat, whisk in browned butter, strain through a fine sieve, refrigerate overnight for flavours to develop, then freeze in an ice-cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Makes about 1 litre.

2.For spiced quince, combine ingredients (except quince, peel and trimmings) in a saucepan with 750ml water, bring to the boil over medium heat. Add quince, peel and trimmings, cover closely with baking paper, weight with a plate, cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and simmer until quince is tender and dark (2-3 hours). Remove quince with a slotted spoon, cut into wedges, then strain cooking liquid through a fine sieve (discard solids), pour back over quince and set aside.

3.Meanwhile, for sweet pastry, preheat oven to 180C. Pulse flour, butter and icing sugar in a food processor until coarse crumbs form, add egg and pulse until a dough forms. Turn onto a lightly floured surface, knead lightly and shape into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate to rest (30 minutes). Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a 2mm-thick rectangle and line a 13cm x 36cm rectangular tart tin, trim edges and refrigerate to rest (30 minutes). Blind bake until golden (10-12 minutes), remove paper and weights, bake until golden and crisp (10-12 minutes), set aside.

4.Cook butter in a saucepan over medium heat until browned (2-3 minutes), remove from heat and strain through a fine sieve (discard sediment). Whisk eggs, cream and 2 tsp fine sea salt in a separate bowl. Heat golden syrup in a saucepan over low heat, add browned butter, then add to cream mixture. Add breadcrumbs and chestnuts, mix well, then pour into tart and bake until just set (15-20 minutes). Cool in tin on a wire rack, then turn out and cool completely. Serve tart at room temperature with warm quince and a little syrup and burnt butter ice-cream.