Easy Lemon Tart

 

I often think that, if I were to be friends with a fruit, ("She's a fruitloop!" I hear you say...) it would have to be the humble lemon. Why? Because they are such a reliable little friend, and I think you'll agree with me when I say reliability is an important virtue in a friend... right? A reliable friend is always there to lend a hand when you need them. Lemon is versatile ingredient in sweet and savoury cooking and best of all, the relationship comes easily... A squeeze or a touch of zest here and there makes the world of difference to a dish, all without any fuss.

I've called this dish 'Easy Lemon Tart' because I really do mean it's easy... It's quick, it's delicious, there is absolutely no baking involved. It also uses 4 whole eggs, so you're not left with egg yolks/whites in the fridge, feeling guilty about the prospect of wasting them! The easiest aspect is that because the base is biscuit based, you are saved the trouble of making dough, resting it, blind baking it, and so on.. The curd is the more 'labour intensive' component of the recipe, but it is well worth the oh so minimal effort! I find this curd recipe makes for a really well balanced flavoured filling which is also free of the excessive egginess you often come across in lemon curds. Obviously though, the acidity of lemons varies, so I'd recommend to taste and add additional sugar if required.

Easy Lemon Tart

recipe adapted from Super Food Ideas, February 2007

Base
165g plain sweet biscuits (such as Marie or Nice biscuits) processed to fine crumbs
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
100g unsalted butter, melted
puring icing sugar, to serve

Lemon Curd
3 lemons
4 eggs
1c caster sugar
125g unsalted butter, chopped

1. Lightly grease a 2 cm deep, 24 cm loose-based round tart tin. Combine the biscuit crumbs, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter in a food processor until the mixture starts to come together. Press into base and sides of prepared tin. Note - you may not need all of the biscuit mixture to cover the base and sides of your tin. Refrigerate for one hour.

2. Meanwhile, start on the lemon curd. Finely zest 1 lemon and juice all lemons. Whisk eggs and sugar together in a heatproof bowl until well combined. Add lemon zest and 2/3 c lemon juice, whisking constantly until well combined.

3. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (do not allow base of bowl to touch water). Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 20 to 25 minutes or until thick and custard like. Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat and whisk in butter.

4. Allow curd to cool to room temperature before pouring into the chilled tart case. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Tell me oh lovely readers, what is your favourite way to use our little lemon friend in the kitchen?


Ladybird x

Lemon Gelato

It's official - gelato is the most difficult thing to photograph. Ever!

I was reading an online article during the week in which a photographer described the challenges of his work, particularly when it comes to capturing shots of children or animals. Ridiculously, I scoffed.. "Clearly he has never tried to photograph gelato!"

The previous day I had pre-scooped and frozen the gelato, hollowed out and cleaned a lemon and set up my scene to photograph this lemon gelato. Despite being organised, it was nothing short of frantic chaos. You see, gelato melts incredibly quickly. Once you've served it, it's Go! Go! GO! It was worth it though. I managed to get some shots of gelato (as opposed to chilled lemon soup) hehe...

There are two main reasons why gelato melts so quickly. First, gelato typically has a low fat content than regular ice cream and secondly, its semi-frozen consistency. I really enjoy gelato, particulary after dinner because it is so light yet so flavoursome.

I adore all things lemony, and I especially love the refreshing and zingy hit of lemon gelato. I'm getting a bit sick of the cold weather here in Sydney, so perhaps a summery gelato will help bring on summer (?). A bit like a home cook's rain dance, only for warm weather! haha..

Lemon Gelato
Makes approximately 1L

1 cup water
220g caster sugar
1/3 lemon zest
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2/3 cup double cream

1. Place the water, sugar, lemon zest and juice in a small saucepan.
2. Stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes, then remove from heat.
3. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
4. Whisk together the lemon mixture and cream in a large jug.
5. Churn in an ice cream machine following the manufacturer's instructions, before transferring to a container then freezing. Mine was a little runny after churning, but was ok once frozen.

Note: If you don't have an ice cream machine, never fear. To read advice from David Lebovitz (in my home, referred to as 'The Ice Cream Guru') about how to make ice cream without a machine, click here.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone :) If the weather is warm in Sydney, perhaps it will be the gelato that brings it on! Let's wait and see...


Ladybird x

Lemon Liqueur Macarons

These are the second batch of macarons I've made, and (it must be said) a vast improvement on my first attempt, but still a long way off from being right. Learning how to make macarons is a frustrating process! In my paranoia about overmixing the batter, I ended up undermixing and so the batter was quite lumpy and difficult to pipe. Edible and tasty, but not very aesthetically appealing... But also one step further towards a perfect macaron :)
As a result of my mistakes in the first batch, I learnt a lot about how to make macarons and now a bit more confident in setting about making these little french delicacies again in future. I have also learnt a lot from reading online. The wealth of knowledge and experience available via the Internet never ceases to amaze me - it's incredible!

I love anything lemony, so I enjoyed these little lemon liqueur macarons. I made mine a little too fat, but made smaller this recipe makes 16 complete macarons.

From The Australian Women's Weekly: Macaroons & Biscuits.
Ingredients
3 eggwhites
1/4 c (55g) caster sugar
yellow food colouring
1 1/4 c (200g) icing sugar
1c (120g) ground almonds
2 tsp finely grated lemon ring
1 tbsp icing sugar, extra
1/4 c pouring cream
150g white chocolate, chopped coarsely
4 tsp limoncello liqueur

Method
Macarons

1. Grease oven trays and line with baking paper.
2. Combine the ground almonds and icing sugar and sieve twice. Set aside.
3. Beat eggwhites slowly and then gradually increase speed until soft peaks form. Add caster sugar a spoonful at a time and a few drops of the food colouring, beat until the sugar dissolves. Fold in sifted icing sugar, ground almonds and rind in two batches.
4. Spoon mixture into piping bag fitted with 2cm plain tube. Pipe 4 cm rounds about 2 cm apart onto trays. Tap trays on bench so macarons spread slightly. Dust macaroons with extra sifted icing sugar. Stand 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius.
6. Bake macarons about 20 minutes until crisp, but not coloured. Cool on trays.

Ganache
1. Bring cream to the boil in a small saucepan, remove from heat, add chocolate, stir until smooth. Stir in liqueur, stand at room temperature until spreadable.
2. Sandwich macarons with filing.

Tips
- Age the eggwhites overnight. I let mine sit out of the fridge in a small container (winter here at the moment, so no problem).
- Beating the eggwhites slowly and then increasing the speed strengthens the eggwhites.
- Don't be afraid of being too rough with the batter. It is important to fold the mixture, but it is more important to achieve a nice smooth batter. When recipes say "it should flow like magma" (which, I feel, is an obscure and frustrating comparison!), they mean it should ooze in slow motion when you tip the bowl to the side.
- To remove any piping peaks (or 'nipples' as I have heard them referred to as in my reading!), dip a finger in water and gently pat the top of the macaron. I forgot to do this step, so otherwise I think the tops would have been smooth. 
- Sandwich macarons just before serving to avoid sogginess.


Until next time readers :) Happy baking

Ladybird x