Old School Dinner Style Butterscotch Tart

Old School Dinner Style Butterscotch Tart … This gorgeously gooey dessert will take you right back to your schooldays – if you went to school in the UK in the 1970s or 1980s. This butterscotch tart was always a huge favourite at our school and this is probably the best recipe we could find for it. If you want to make it really authentic, serve it with lumpy custard!

This dessert is sometimes also known as Gypsy Tart, although true gypsy/gipsy tart is usually made with condensed or evaporated milk and has a thicker and firmer topping.  The butterscotch sauce in this recipe remains quite liquid and does not set as firmly as gypsy tart.

Butterscotch tart is guaranteed to send you on a trip down memory lane, with favourites such as chocolate crackolate, pink custard and rainbow sponge.  The recipe is straightforward to make, which is excellent as this elusive dessert rarely appears in shops or restaurants.

Old School Dinner Butterscotch Tart

Ingredients

For the Shortcrust Pastry Base

  • 225g plain flour
  • 100g margarine/Stork
  • 30g caster/icing sugar
  • cold water to mix

For The Butterscotch Topping

  • 35g plain flour
  • 175g unsalted butter
  • 175g soft brown sugar
  • 100 ml milk

Instructions

For the Pastry Base

Sieve flour into a bowl and rub in the diced margarine/Stork. Stir in the sugar and slowly add cold water, mixing with a knife until the mixture starts to come together. Once it’s at the soft ball stage, put it in the fridge/freezer for 15 minutes to rest. Once rested, turn out onto a floured board and roll out thinly.

Line a 7″ flan dish or baking tin. Prick the base with a fork. Bake in an oven at gas mark 6 for 15-20 minutes until golden. You can bake this blind if you wish—remove baking beans for the final 5 minutes.

To Make the Butterscotch Topping

Heat the butter and most of the milk in a saucepan over a low light until melted. Add the sugar and the rest of the milk. Gently stir until melted.

Next, gently add the sieved flour, stirring vigorously as you add it gradually. The mixture will become lumpy if you don’t stir well at this stage.

Let the mixture bubble over low to medium heat for about one minute to thicken. Leave to cool for a few minutes, then turn out into the flan case. Enjoy.

a light sprinkling of sea salt really makes this butterscotch tart special

Serving Suggestions

It’s lovely as it is, hot or cold but a light sprinkling of sea salt really makes it pop.  Jazz it up with whipped cream and grated chocolate, or serve it old school style with custard

How Much Does It Cost to Make Butterscotch Tart?

Although decadent, the ingredients are fairly cheap—especially if you buy budget butter. The most expensive ingredient is brown sugar, which, if you buy the supermarket’s own brand, costs £1.80 for 500 grams. To cut down on costs, make the pastry with Stork or cook’s margarine.

We calculate the total cost of this recipe to be no more than £3, and it will feed 6-8, depending on how hungry you are – or just  2 people in our house!  You can also make mini versions of the dessert in muffin pans, ideal for picnics, lunch boxes, or eating on the move.

Hints and Tips: To save time, use a pre-made pastry case.  Sainsbury’s currently offers a ready-made pastry case for £1.19.

For more old school recipes check out School Dinner Recipes by Sally Berry on Amazon

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