Liverpool Tart facts for kids
| Type | Tart |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Region or state | Dorset |
| Main ingredients | Lemon, sugar |
The Liverpool Tart is a delicious dessert from the United Kingdom. It's a type of tart, which is like a small pie, often with a sweet filling. This special tart gets its unique taste from a mix of moist sugar and boiled lemon.
Contents
A Taste of History
The very first time anyone wrote about a Liverpool Tart was in 1897. It was a handwritten recipe found in a family cookbook. This cookbook belonged to a family in the village of Evershot, located in Dorset, England. The recipe was recently shared on the village's website.
Making the Tart Famous
In 2006, a person named Gerry Jones from Liverpool became very interested in this old recipe. He wanted the Liverpool Tart to become as well-known and loved as other famous British tarts. Some of these include the Bakewell tart and the Manchester tart.
By 2008, his efforts paid off! Two bakeries in Merseyside, near Liverpool, started making the Liverpool Tart regularly. These bakeries were Satterthwaites in Crosby and Dafna's Cheesecake Factory in south Liverpool.
Original Recipe Details
The very first recipe for the Liverpool Tart was quite simple. It called for:
- ½ pound of moist sugar
- 2 ounces of butter
- 1 egg
- 1 lemon
- Pastry
How It's Made Today
Today, bakers have learned more about how to make the Liverpool Tart. They think that "moist sugar" in the old recipe probably meant dark muscovado sugar. This type of sugar is soft and has a rich flavor.
Instead of boiling and mincing the lemon, many people now shred it. They make sure to remove all the seeds first. This way, the lemon flavor spreads nicely throughout the tart.
Decorating Your Tart
Once the tart is baked and cooling, it's time to make it look pretty! The original recipe mentioned a "cross bar over." Most people agree this means adding a lattice. A lattice is a criss-cross pattern made from strips of pastry on top of the tart.
However, the most eye-catching Liverpool Tarts often feature the famous Liver Bird. The Liver Bird is a symbol of Liverpool. There are a few ways to add this bird to your tart:
- Using Cutters: You can buy special pastry cutters that shape sugarpaste into Liver Birds. While these look amazing, they add more sweetness. Also, it can be tricky to get the delicate bird shapes out of the cutter, which makes it harder for bakeries to use this method for many tarts.
- Using a Template: Another popular and quicker way is to use a flat Liver Bird shape or template. You place this template on the tart. Then, you sprinkle biscuit crumbs over the whole tart. When you carefully lift the template, a dark Liver Bird shape is left clearly visible on the tart. This method is much faster and doesn't add too much extra sweetness.
