Liverpool Tart
Encyclopedia
The earliest known mention of a Liverpool Tart is 1897, when it was hand-written into a family cookbook, which was recently included in the village website for Evershot
, in Dorset
.
Basically a pasty tart, the distinctive taste comes from the mixture of moist sugar (sic) and a boiled lemon, minced. In 2006 this recipe was taken up by Gerry Jones of Liverpool
and developed with a view to the tart becoming as widely known and appreciated as the Bakewell
and Manchester tart
s. In 2008 it was being produced as a regular line by two bakeries in Merseyside
, Satterthwaites in Crosby
and Dafna's Cheesecake Factory in south Liverpool. The original recipe called for "½lb moist sugar, 2oz butter, 1 egg, 1 lemon, pastry".
The process read;
" Put the butter and sugar into a moderate oven to melt. When melted, let it cool. Boil your lemon whole very slowly (or it will break) until quite soft. Mince it whole as it is, saving the juice as much as possible and taking out the pips. Mince very fine.
Beat the egg well. Mix all well together. Line a flat open tart dish with good paste, and pour in the mixture to one uniform thickness (about ½ an inch), cross bar over and bake. Serve hot or cold."
Current thinking is that "moist" sugar meant dark muscovado, while the lemon may be shredded (after removal of the pips) instead of "boiling and mincing". Once the basic tart is baked and setting, thought is then given to a decorative finish. The original "cross bar over" is generally agreed to mean a lattice of pastry strips across the top, but the most attractive versions include the shape of Liverpool's Liver Bird in one form or another. It is possible to buy bespoke pastry cutters which can provide Liver Bird shapes in sugarpaste. While these produce the most attractive tarts, they do add yet another level of sweetness, and the difficulty of removing each limb from the cutter makes this uneconomical in commercial terms. Another popular method is to acquire a flat Liver Bird shape or template, which can be rested on the surface while biscuit-crumb is dredged over the whole tart, then removal of the template leaves a dark Liver Bird in clear view. This is a much quicker process and adds much less extra sweetness.
Evershot
Evershot is a village in west Dorset, England, south of Yeovil. It is the second highest village in the county , the centre of the village lying at 175 metres above sea-level. The village has a population of 206...
, in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
.
Basically a pasty tart, the distinctive taste comes from the mixture of moist sugar (sic) and a boiled lemon, minced. In 2006 this recipe was taken up by Gerry Jones of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and developed with a view to the tart becoming as widely known and appreciated as the Bakewell
Bakewell tart
The Bakewell Tart, not to be confused with the Bakewell Pudding, is a shortcrust pastry with a layer of jam and a sponge filling with almonds. The Bakewell Pudding on the other hand is a flaky pastry, with a layer of jam and an egg and almond filling. The tart then can be covered with a layer of...
and Manchester tart
Manchester tart
The Manchester tart is a traditional English baked tart, which consists of a shortcrust pastry shell, spread with raspberry jam, covered with a custard filling and topped with flakes of coconut and a Maraschino cherry...
s. In 2008 it was being produced as a regular line by two bakeries in Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, Satterthwaites in Crosby
Crosby, Merseyside
Crosby is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Lancashire it is situated north of Bootle, south of Southport, Formby and west of Netherton-History:...
and Dafna's Cheesecake Factory in south Liverpool. The original recipe called for "½lb moist sugar, 2oz butter, 1 egg, 1 lemon, pastry".
The process read;
" Put the butter and sugar into a moderate oven to melt. When melted, let it cool. Boil your lemon whole very slowly (or it will break) until quite soft. Mince it whole as it is, saving the juice as much as possible and taking out the pips. Mince very fine.
Beat the egg well. Mix all well together. Line a flat open tart dish with good paste, and pour in the mixture to one uniform thickness (about ½ an inch), cross bar over and bake. Serve hot or cold."
Current thinking is that "moist" sugar meant dark muscovado, while the lemon may be shredded (after removal of the pips) instead of "boiling and mincing". Once the basic tart is baked and setting, thought is then given to a decorative finish. The original "cross bar over" is generally agreed to mean a lattice of pastry strips across the top, but the most attractive versions include the shape of Liverpool's Liver Bird in one form or another. It is possible to buy bespoke pastry cutters which can provide Liver Bird shapes in sugarpaste. While these produce the most attractive tarts, they do add yet another level of sweetness, and the difficulty of removing each limb from the cutter makes this uneconomical in commercial terms. Another popular method is to acquire a flat Liver Bird shape or template, which can be rested on the surface while biscuit-crumb is dredged over the whole tart, then removal of the template leaves a dark Liver Bird in clear view. This is a much quicker process and adds much less extra sweetness.