What is Ecclefechan famous for?

The village is famous for being the birthplace of Thomas Carlyle . Ecclefechan lies in the valley of the Mein Water, a tributary of the River Annan, 61⁄4 miles (10 kilometres) south of Lockerbie, five miles (eight kilometres) north of Annan and eight miles (thirteen kilometres) northwest of the English border.

Why are my butter tarts soggy?

If your butter tarts unfortunately turn out too soggy, it's likely your filling was too watered down or your pastry was rolled too thin . Next time, make sure your pastry is only rolled out to a 1/4-inch-thickness.

What does Ecclefechan mean in English?

In Common Brittonic, Ecclefechan meant “ small church ”, but when Gaelic swept through the area the belief arose that the name derived from the 7th century St Féchín of Fore – hence the local shortening of the name to Fechan.

How do you make a tart without a soggy bottom?

Blind Bake the Crust One of the fool-proof ways to ensure a crisp bottom pie crust is to do what is called blind baking. This simply means that you bake the crust—either fully if you are adding a custard or cream that won't be cooked, or partially if the whole pie needs to bake—before adding the filling.

How do you keep the bottom of a tart from getting soggy?

Crust dust is a 1:1 mixture of flour and granulated sugar. When baking a pie, especially a fruit pie, a couple of teaspoons of crust dust sprinkled into the bottom of the crust will help prevent the crust from becoming saturated with juicy filling as it bakes.

How do you keep tart crust crispy?

Brush Your Pie in Egg Wash Once you've pre-baked your pie, brush the bottom and sides of the crust with egg wash, then reheat at 400° for 4 minutes to set the glaze. This creates a seal between the crust and the filling so that your crust stays crispy and golden once the filling is added.

What is the history of Ecclefechan tart?

The Ecclefechan Tart is named after the town where historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle was born . As Ecclefechan is close to the border with England, it is sometimes called Borders Tart, but let's face it, Ecclefechan is so much more fun to say.

Where did the name Ecclefechan come from?

The name Ecclefechan is believed to be derived from Brythonic language meaning 'Little Church' with the origins of the village dating back to around 1180.

Where did Ecclefechan tarts come from?

This was a simple pastry shell, filled with dried fruits, cherries and nuts, all in a soft mixture of sugar, eggs and ground almonds. Taking it up a notch, today's recipe is the slightly fancier Ecclefechan Butter Tart, which originates in the Scottish Borders town of Ecclefechan .

Was Carlyle born in Ecclefechan?

About this place. Little did anyone know that the boy born here in 1795 would go on to become one of the most prolific writers and social commentators of the 19th century. The unassuming exterior of this wee house in Ecclefechan, near Lockerbie, belies its significance in Scottish history.

Ecclefechan Tarts - My Gorgeous Recipes (2024)

Published: Dec 8, 2022 · Modified: Aug 5, 2023 by Daniela Apostol · This post may contain affiliate links · 5 Comments

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Scottish Ecclefechan Tarts made with a sweet shortcrust pastry and a filling of light brown sugar, butter, mixed dried fruit and walnuts, some delicious festive tarts that make a wonderful alternative to the classic mince pies. The tarts have a hint of caramel coming from the rich butter and sugar filling, and go down a treat with a hot drink at Christmas.

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Another Scottish festive treat for you - after the delicious Scottish shortbread, these Ecclefechan tarts are sure to be your favourite Christmas bake, and the perfect addition to your Christmas treats list.

Named after the town of Ecclefechan (pronunced Eck-el-fech-han) in Dumfries and Galloway, these buttery pastry tarts are filled with traditional Christmas ingredients: mixed dried fruit and walnuts in a rich and caramel-like brown sugar and butter mixture.

Sounds delicious? They really are! Mince pies are the more popular mini tarts throughout the festive season, and while they look and are made in a similar way, the Ecclefechan tarts aren't as overly sweet and have no brandy in their filling.

They can be made in a bun tin, muffin tin - like mine, or even as a large tart in a quiche/tart tin - it's entirely up to you. I prefer the individual tarts, as they are easier to serve to your guests.

I would say they are also easier for portion control, but I guess at Christmas, portion control isn't really a thing. The tarts have been adapted from Ecclefechan Tarts – Easy Baking.

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Ingredients needed
Step-by-step photos and instructions
Expert tips
Ecclefechan Tarts

Ingredients needed

For the sweet shortcrust pastry

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flour - plain flour works well in shortcrust pastries
butter - unsalted works fine, but if you have salted butter, you can use that too
egg - to bind the dough together
sugar - caster or granulated
milk - if needed to bring the dough together

For the filling

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mixed dried fruit - or you can use whatever dried fruit you have around, sultanas, raisins, cherry glace, and so on
walnuts
melted butter
light brown sugar - the dark one makes the filling a lot darker and richer and more similar to the mince pies, I prefer the light brown sugar
egg
lemon juice

Step-by-step photos and instructions

To make the pastry, sift the flour in a large bowl, add the butter cut into cubes, and use your fingers to rub them together until it resembles breadcrumbs
Add the sugar and mix well
Crack the egg in, add the milk, and mix to get a smooth dough
Cover the dough with clingfilm, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

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Flour the work surface well, and use a rolling pin to roll the pastry to a thickness of 3mm
Use a large cookie cutter with a 10 cm diameter to cut out rounds
Carefully line the muffin tin holes with the pastry circles and refrigerate until the filling is ready

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To make the filling, melt the butter, and add it to a bowl together with the light brown sugar, egg beaten lightly, chopped walnuts and dried fruit
Give everything a good mix
Divide the mixture evenly between the 12 muffin holes lined with the dough circles, and bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling is set and risen.

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Expert tips

Chilling the dough is a crucial step, as the pastry does tend to shrink quite a bit in the oven - that's the case with all butter pastry though, and unless you bake it blind beforehand, you will end up will too little pastry.

An important step is rolling the dough thin, as otherwise you end up with tarts that have more pastry than filling.

Do not overbeat the butter and sugar for the filling, there is no need for a hand mixer, just mix them lightly with a spatula, otherwise the filling becomes marshmallowy.

Do not fill the tarts too much with filling, as this rises in the oven and will overflow, making the tarts less pretty and sticky too. I would fill them only about half or 3 quarters, but not all the way to the top.

You can sprinkle some icing sugar over the tarts once the cool down for a more festive look, but that's entirely optional.

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