A delicious whisky laced, dried fruit and nut filled flan. It’s kind of like the best possible buttertart-fruitcake you can imagine. Yum!
- Make the pastry
- Press into a pie plate
- Scottish Tart filling ingredients
- The finished tart!
This was the second sweet we served at our Robert Burns Dinner.

Scottish Tart
Description
A traditional tart with dried cranberries, currants and nuts in a delectably sweet filling. A little goes a long way!
Scale
Ingredients
For the pastry crust (9″)
- 190 g (6 2/3 oz or 1 1/3 c) all-purpose flour
- 63 g (2 1/4 oz or 5 tbsp) sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 140 g (5 oz or 10 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 medium egg, beaten
For the filling
- 200g (7 oz) soft dark brown sugar
- 200g (7 oz) butter
- 40 g (2 tbsp) golden syrup
- 4 medium eggs, beaten
- the grated zest of 1 lemon
- 150 g (5.3 oz) currants
- 75g (2.65 oz) dried cranberries
- 75g (2.65 oz) almonds, sliced or chopped
- 75g (2.65 oz) pistachio nuts, chopped
- 75g (2.65 oz) walnuts, chopped
- 100 ml (1/3 c) Scotch whisky
- whipping cream to serve
Instructions
Make the pastry crust
- Place an oven rack in the lowest position. Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF or 325ºF Convection.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the melted butter and stir with a wooden spoon until dough forms (about 15 seconds). Using your hands, press two-thirds of the dough into the bottom of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the remaining dough into the fluted sides of the pan. Press and smooth the dough with your hands to an even thickness.
- Place the pan on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and bake on the lowest oven rack, until the crust is light golden brown and firm to the touch (20-25 minutes), rotating the pan halfway through baking. Remove the pan from the oven and brush the inside of the pastry with the beaten egg, return to the oven for five minutes until brown. Set aside until ready to fill.
Make the filling
- Reduce the oven temperature to 300ºF or 275ºF Convection.
- Melt the sugar, butter and syrup in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and whisk in the eggs. Add the lemon zest, fruits, nuts and whisky. Mix together and scoop into the pastry shell. (Warning – the tart pan will be filled to the brim; don’t be alarmed. It doesn’t bubble over, but subsides to a firm mass as the alcohol evaporates while baking. Just carry it carefully over to the oven and slide it in).
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until firm.
- Serve warm or cold, with whipped cream as a garnish.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 10
I’m sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch.
Loved your entire post of Robert Burns dinner! The soup tureens & tableware are perfect! I want to make the Scottish Tart. What is “golden syrup?” Would pure maple syrup do or is it more like clear corn syrup? Thanks for your clarification!
Hi Kay,
Sorry – I should have clarified earlier. It’s a British staple, but not much found in North America, I don’t think. Here’s is a link to it on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Tate-Lyles-Golden-Syrup-454g/dp/B0001590BY
I see they also sell it at World Market. Lyle’s Golden Syrup – we used to love it on oatmeal in the morning as kids (or if we could sneak a spoonful out of the tin when no one was looking).
It’s closer to a corn syrup than maple syrup, so if you wanted to substitute corn syrup I think it would be just fine. It’s a small quantity in the tart, and the whisky plus dried fruit have soooo much flavour.
Enjoy the tart! And thanks for stopping by. 🙂