Old English Curd Tart

**** Make sweet pastry for 18 tarts roll out and chill

For the Filling:

100g of soften Unsalted Butter

50g of caster sugar

225g of Curd cheese

1 Tablespoon of Ground Almonds

Pinch of salt

2 eggs beaten

2 Tablespoons of Lemon Curd

Icing Sugar to finish off

Cream together the sugar and butter

Add curd cheese, ground almonds, salt and eggs beat until smooth

In the base of each pastry case spread the lemon curd, t

hen spoon in the cheese mix

Bake for 20 minutes

Finish with icing sugar

Lemon Posset

Image provided courtesy of allrecipes.com

Lemon posset is probably one of my all time favourite desserts because its a) so simple to make and b) it goes down phenomenally well in almost every setting. Its not short of flavour, texture or even too light to leave unsatisfied. The heavy citrus element also cleanses the palate and gives an extremely uplifting experience. I have seen and used several lemon posset recipes in my time, and this one is my favourite as it gives maximum flavour and enjoyment. 

Ingredients:

Makes about 10 (adjust if necessary for more or less)

6 Large Lemons, juiced and zested

200g of Caster sugar

1200ml of Double cream

Preparation:

Boil the cream and sugar for six minutes (but keep an eye on it). Using the largest pan you have helps, so that it gives prevention from boil over accidents. 

Remove from the heat and pour over the lemon juice and zest. Leave to stand for about 20 mins whilst it cools a bit and allows the lemon flavour to infuse.

Strain into a jug

Decant into wine glasses and set in the fridge for about 2-3 hours.

Decorate in any wayyou see fit, with berries, chopped nuts, whipped cream etc.

Devour.

Classic Lemon Tart (Tarte Au Citron)

Image courtesy of waitrose.com

If there's one lemon dessert i like out there, its the classic lemon tart. Its wonderfully sweet, has a brilliantly clean flavour, and ticks every box for me with a lemon dessert. Ill be honest, its going to take a bit of time (leaving the lemon mix for 24 hours) but think if it this way - is time well spent. The prep time around this is minimal - its only a means of putting it together and if you really want to save yourself a bit of labour you can buy the flan cases (shhh). Its brilliant year round, although is favoured in spring and summer. But with the lemon's availability in supermarkets, its a winner any time of the year.

This recipe makes two, so if like many people who love lemon desserts, you'll end up eating one pretty sharpish. If you want to freeze one, it does freeze well. It also means that if you're called upon to produce one, you have only to defrost it.

Ingredients:

(Makes two)

12 Eggs

8 Lemons juice and zest

450g of Caster sugar

350ml of double cream

2 30 cm flan case

Whisk eggs and sugar till pale

Add to this the lemon juice and zest

Fold in the cream

Leave to stand for 24 hours & strain

Pour into two 30 cm flan cases lined with sweet pastry, which has been blind baked

Bake at 160 degrees till set. (the lemon mix should be firm to the touch)

Variant: For citrus tart use 6 lemon and 4 limes. To make orange tart use 6 oranges instead of lemons