Treacle Tart (1896, 1897)

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TREACLE TART  from D. L. F. Sealy
The first mention of this dish so far discovered by the editors of the _OED_ is 1919.  Can anyone provide an earlier instance?
   My address is 7 Leonard Avenue, Otford, Sevenoaks, Kent TN14 5RB
Pg. 123,
PETITS PROPOS CULINAIRES 71
Prospect Books, November 2002

   This--with no reply?--is from the Google Group rec.food.historic:

From: Richard Wright (richwrig at tig.com.au)
Subject: history of phrase 'treacle tart'
Newsgroups: rec.food.historic
Date: 2002-09-13 19:35:56 PST

The Oxford English Dictionary is asking for occurrences of the noun
'treacle tart' earlier than 1919.

If anybody can help with a citation I shall be happy to forward it to
the OED.

Richard Wright



   Nigella Lawson wasn't available?  She writes for the NEW YORK TIMES food section, so she knows everything.  She's also been on tv.
   Get an e-mail address!  Someone write to the PPC person for me!
   No one can beat those OED editors, but here goes:


   28 March 1896, WOMAN'S LIFE (Gerritsen Collection), pg. 128:
   _Treacle Tart._--Method.--Line a tin plate with plain short crust, and cover it with plenty of golden syrup; add sufficient bread-crumbs to make it the consistency of jam.  Lemon-juice, ginger, or mixed spice may be added to flavour the treacle.  The tart may be covered with another layer of pastry, or bars or leaves may be laid across the tart.

   13 August 1896, WOMAN'S SIGNAL (Gerritsen Collection), pg. 107:
   If for open tarts, with very juicy fruit, after filling the pastry, put a cover of bread crumbs over, as is done for namely treacle tarts; for a covered tart, mince-pie fashion, they can be omitted.

   15 May 1897, WOMAN'S LIFE (Gerritsen COllection), pg. 421:
   _Treacle Tart._--Line a pie-dish with some pastry; then put a layer of bread-crumbs, well moistened with treacle and flavoured with chopped lemon peel; then a layer of thin pastry, next treacle, &c.and so on till the dish is full.  Place a top-crust over, and bake.  To serve, turn out with the bottom upwards, and sift sugar over.

   24 July 1897, WOMAN'S LIFE (Gerritsen Collection), pg. 296:
   _Treacle Tart._--Line a pie-dish with some pastry, then put in a layer of bread-crumbs well moistened with treacle and flavoured with chopped lemon-peel; then a layer of thin pastry, next treacle, &c., and so on till the dish is full.  Place a top-crust over, and bake.  To serve, turn out with the bottom upwards, and sift sugar over.

(I have about four more cites before 1904--ed.)