LEMON TARTLETS
Lemon tartlets will always be reminiscent of Garden Parties for me . I vividly remember the first time that I attended a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace ; it was a gloriously sunny English summer ’ s afternoon . As a child growing up in South Africa , I would no more have dreamt of venturing inside the gates of Buckingham Palace than flying to the moon ! It is a memory that I shall always treasure . In this recipe , I use lemon pastry and a filling of my home-made lemon curd , mixed with a little whipped cream . I decorate them with seasonal berries , fresh mint and edible flowers .
Ingredients YOU WILL NEED :
Twenty-four 5cm ( 2 inch ) tartlet moulds or 2 muffin trays , A metal pastry cutter 7 – 8cm ( 2½ – 3 inches ) in diameter and ceramic baking beans .
FOR THE LEMON PASTRY : 280g / 10oz butter ( 1½ sticks ) 140g / 5oz golden caster sugar ( ⅔ cup ) Zest of 1 un-waxed lemon 1 free-range egg 450g / 1lb plain flour ( 4 cups )
FOR THE FILLING :
150ml / ⅔ cup double cream 360g / 12oz lemon curd ( 1½ cups )
FOR THE DECORATION :
A selection of berries , mint leaves and edible flowers Icing sugar
Method
Makes approximately 24 x 5cm ( 2 inch ) tartlets
1 . Make the pastry : Cream together the butter and sugar . Finely grate the lemon zest directly into the mixture , add the egg yolk and mix well .
2 . Sift in the flour , mix and bring together to form a smooth dough . You can use a food processor to make the pastry . 3 . Leave to rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes . 4 . Whip the cream until firm and fold in the lemon curd . Cover and leave in the refrigerator until required .
5 . Roll the pastry out on a floured board to a thickness of about 3mm ( ⅛ inch ). Cut out circles of pastry and line the tartlet moulds .
6 . Place a circle of baking parchment into each tartlet and fill with baking beans .
7 . Chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes and set the oven to 180 º C / 350 º F .
8 . Bake for approximately 10 minutes , depending on size . Remove the baking beans and parchment and return to the oven for a few more minutes to crisp up the tartlets .
9 . Cool on a wire rack and then remove tartlets from the moulds .
10 . When completely cold , fill with the lemon curd cream .
11 . Decorate with your choice of berries and finish with flowers and mint . Dust with icing sugar just before serving .
12 . To keep the pastry crisp for longer , paint the inside of the tartlets with melted chocolate . White chocolate is best as the strong flavour of dark chocolate conflicts with the freshness of the lemons .
13 . If fresh berries are not in season , glaze the tartlets by sprinkling them generously with icing sugar , then using www a blow . society torch . qa you 55 can caramelise the sugar .