GRAPEFRUIT TREACLE TART

INGREDIENTS
Serves 12

• For The Filling
• 3 pink grapefruit
• 3 large eggs
• 450g golden syrup
• 50ml double cream
• 100g fresh white breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp caster sugar


• For The Pastry
• 140g unsalted butter
• 250g plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2-3 tbsp iced water

• YOU WILL NEED
• 2 x mixing bowls
• Saucepan
• 24cm (9½in) loose-bottomed flan tin
• 2 x baking trays

1. To make the pastry, put the butter, flour and salt in a mixing bowl and rub together between your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the egg yolks and enough water to make it a crumbly dough. Wrap the dough in cling film, and chill it in the fridge for at least 1 hour, until firm.
2. Finely grate the zest of one grapefruit. Cut the fruit in half and extract the juice. Put the grapefruit juice into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Boil until the juice has reduced by about two thirds and turned syrupy. Peel and segment the other two grapefruit, removing all pith.
3. To make the filling, whisk the eggs in a bowl until yolks and whites are combined, then add the golden syrup, cream, reduced grapefruit juice and zest, and the breadcrumbs. Stir vigorously to combine.
4. Heat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas mark 5. Place a baking sheet in the oven to heat up. Grease the flan tin.

5. Unwrap the pastry and roll it out a dusted surface, ideally to a thickness of 1mm. Line the greased tin with the pastry, then put it in the freezer for 20 minutes to chill.
6. Trim the excess pastry from the top of the pastry case, then fill it with the treacle mixture. Put it onto the preheated baking sheet in the oven. Bake on the middle shelf for 40–50 minutes, covering it with foil towards the end of cooking if it is browning too much on top.
7. While the tart is baking, dry the grapefruit segments on kitchen paper, then place them on a metal baking tray. Sprinkle the caster sugar over them and use a kitchen blowtorch to caramelise. Simply omit the sugar if you haven't got a blowtorch.
8. Remove the tart from the oven and allow it to cool until it is lukewarm, not hot. Arrange the caramelised grapefruit on top of the warm tart and serve with ice cream, cream or custard.