French Lemon Tarts

What does it take for a brit to get his hands on some meyer lemons? Turns out it’s a simple matter of one transatlantic flight, a garden in Alabama, and an editor willing to carry some in his hand luggage on another flight across America! Simple really. On a trip to NYC, at the end of last year, I was determined to get my hands on some meyer lemons, the less sour, sweeter and more perfumed cousin to the classic lemon we all know and love. Maybe its because living in the cold winter tundra of London the idea of those lemons, grown in warmer environs, warms my heart or maybe its simply I like the idea of using something I cant normally get my hands on, either way I was excited to see what all the fuss is about. Enter my editors at Bake From Scratch, Brian and Brooke, who conspired to get a bag of lemons to me, grown in a garden in Alabama and hand delivered to me in NYC, if thats not friendship I'm not sure what is. Edit: I should say Brian didn't fly to NYC just to deliver me some lemons, that would be crazy, he was already coming to town!

I was determined to use them in something where the lemon flavour would shine and not be beaten into submission by sugar, or overpowered by countless other ingredients. A lemon tart seemed the perfect test subject. Now, while there is absolutely nothing wrong with a classic baked lemon tart my preference is the french lemon cream tart (me make a french dish, how unsurprising!). The texture of the cream is a silky, buttery dream but starts off in the same way as any traditional lemon curd. You cook the lemon together with sugar and eggs until thickened, then off the heat add the butter. So far so familiar, but it’s the exact method that makes this all so special. Firstly the amount of butter is increased, isn't everything better when there is more butter, and secondly it’s the way it is incorporated into the curd that makes the world of difference. With a traditional curd you either cook the butter and lemon mixture together, which in my mind is the worst method, or it is added immediately after the egg mixture is cooked. Both of these methods melt the butter fully, giving a greasier fattier end product. By waiting for the egg mixture to cool slightly and then slowly emulsifying the butter in a bit by bit you end up with something that is somewhere between a traditional curd and a french buttercream made with egg yolks, beautifully silky and the perfect tart filling. 

I cannot say with any accuracy or confidence who invented this style of cream but the first place I encountered it was in the pages of one of the Pierre Herme books written by the wonderful Dorie Greenspan, and it is her basic method I have used ever since (although the ratio of ingredients in my version is different to suit my tastes). Over the years this style has become incredibly popular and if you visit the patisseries of Paris these days your lemon tart is more likely to be made with this method than the traditional baked method. If you want a different version you can use any citrus to make the cream, adjusting the sugar to fit the sharpness of the fruit. As I was using meyer lemons I knocked the sugar down just a tad, but the recipe below is for regular lemons.

Lemon Cream Tarts
Makes 6

Lemon Cream
150ml lemon juice
zest of 3 lemons
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
150g caster sugar
225g unsalted butter, diced and at room temperature

Pate Sucree
recipe here

Start with the lemon cream as it needs ample chilling time before it is ready to use. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, eggs, egg yolks and caster sugar into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and cook, stirring regularly until the mixture reaches 80c on an instant read thermometer. The temperature is key because it needs to be fully cooked like a custard so the finished cream holds the correct texture. I have said here to do this stage in a bain marie but half of the time I just place the ingredients directly into a saucepan and do this over a low heat stirring constantly. It is quicker than the bain marie method but it is also more prone to catching and overcooking so if you decide to do it this way be very careful and keep the heat down low. 

Once the custard is cooked pour it into a large jug, through a fine sieve to remove any cooked egg bits, allowing to cool for 15 minutes, when it should be about 60c. Using some form of blender (traditional jug style or stick blender both work great) blend in the butter a couple piece at a time. If using a stick blender do this in the jug you cooled the curd, the depth of the jug means you wont end up incorporating too much air which you're trying to avoid (the same reason it is best not to use a food processor). Once all of the butter has been incorporated pour the cream into a container, press a sheet of clingfilm onto the surface of the custard and refrigerate for at least fours hours, until the mixture thickens up. 

Remove the chilled pastry from the fridge and cut into six equal sized pieces and working with one at a time roll out, on a lightly floured worksurface, until 2-3mm thick. Use to line either six 10cm loose bottomed tart tins or as I do use tart rings, which give a more modern style. Trim off the excess and set onto a parchment lined baking tray. Line each tart with a piece of crumpled parchment paper and fill with rice (I prefer rice to baking beans as they are lighter and smaller so less likely to damage the delicate pastry but mainly they are smaller so fit into the corners of the pastry better so you get a better finish, plus rice is much cheaper). 

Blind bake the tart shells at 190c for about 15/20 minutes before removing the rice and parchment  and baking for a further 10 minutes or until the inside is nice and golden. Once baked set aside to cool. Once ready to serve remove the cream from the fridge and fill the tart shells. Set back in the fridge for about 30 minutes before serving to firm up again. For this version I have topped with a little bit of swiss meringue, blowtorching to give a lemon meringue tart vibe. 

The cream can be made a few days in advance but once the tart shells are filled with the cream they are best eaten the same day.

Triple Ginger Bundt Cake

GIngerbread is a big deal in my family, a really big deal. My grandmother, Nanna, had a version that was made once a week, a firm family favourite, it is one of those recipes that I will cherish and bake forever. Even though she passed away when I was little I have her handwritten recipe and make it often. It helps that it is incredibly easy to make, a simple wet into dry, muffin style method, and I do love a recipe that massively exceeds in taste the effort required to make it. Whilst I have a lot of loyalty to that recipe for this gingerbread I wanted a slightly different tone, something darker, more intense, something similar to my other favourite gingerbread recipe; the legendary ginger stout cake from Claudia Fleming, a recipe she developed whilst the pastry chef at The Gramercy Tavern. The recipe appears in her out of print of book The Last Course, a copy of which I am lucky to own (it is currently being sold on amazon for £138!). Similarly to Flemings recipe mine is oil based and uses a stout to give extra depth, instead of the usual go-to guinness I went with a chocolate stout. To give a darker, richer flavour I switched my recipe from golden syrup to black treacle and upped the spicing, using a trifecta of ginger in the form of ground, fresh and candied, I wanted this to be a properly fiery gingerbread. 

Triple Ginger Bundt Cake
Serves 12-16

340g plain flour
2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
175g vegetable oil
150g light brown sugar
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
4 tbsp roughly chopped candied ginger
340g black treacle (or molasses)
200ml stout (I used chocolate stout but any stout will work) 
2 large eggs

Making this cake really couldn't be easier, simply preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and take a a 10-cup bundt pan, I used Nordicware's Kougelhopf pan, and lightly grease, making sure to cover the entire pan right into all of the crevices of the pan. Lightly dust the inside of the pan with a little flour, tapping out any excess.  

In a large bowl mix together all of the dry goods. Add the remaining ingredients, except the eggs, into a saucepan and heat over medium heat cooking until the sugar has melted and everything is evenly combined. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before whisking in the eggs. Pour the liquid goods over the flour mixture and whisk briefly until smoothly combined. Pour into the prepared bundt pan and place onto a baking tray, baking in the preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. If you fancy you can glaze or frost the cake but personally I think a simple dusting of icing sugar works perfectly. 

As with all gingerbread recipes this actually improves after a couple days, the flavour gets better and the cake gets stickier. 

Cranberry Meringue Roulade with Orange Mascarpone

During the Christmas festivities we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make elaborate meals with fancy desserts that take time and effort to make. Nothing wrong with that but per se but sometimes that effort and time means less time spent with family and friends, to enjoy the holiday. This dessert is perfect for those of us that want something delicious but also something that is quick and simple to prepare. If you've never made a meringue roulade before don't fret, they are fairly forgiving and as they are prone to the occasional crack, embrace them and forget about perfection, rustic is the name of the game with this recipe.

Cranberry Compote

200g cranberries, fresh or frozen

75g caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon

Roulade

4 large eggs

225g caster sugar

a few drops of lemon juice

1 tsp almond extract

1 tsp cornflour

4 tbsp flaked almonds

Orange Mascarpone Cream

250ml double cream

225g mascarpone

zest of 1 large orange

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan).

To make the compote place the cranberries into medium sized saucepan along with the sugar and lemon juice. Cook over a medium/high heat until the cranberries have released a lot of juice and it has reduced to a syrupy consistency, roughly 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat, pour into a small container, cover, and refrigerate until needed. This compote is sharp from the cranberries and lemon juice but don't be tempted to add more sugar, the sweetness of the meringue and the creaminess of the mascarpone balance this out beautifully.

To make the roulade, lightly grease a 37x26cm rimmed baking tray (the exact size is not crucial but if you you go much smaller the meringue will be very thick and hard to roll and much bigger the meringue will be thin and will crack more than expected) and line with a piece of parchment paper allowing a little excess to go up the sides of the tray, the meringue will rise a little as it bakes and you don’t want to end up with the roulade glued to the rim of the tray. To make the roulade, place the egg whites into a large bowl and mix with an electric whisk on high speed until the egg white is foamy. Slowly add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, whisking until the meringue holds stiff peaks. Add the almond extract and cornflour and whisk briefly to combine. Spread the meringue evenly over the prepared baking tray and sprinkle with the flaked almonds. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the meringue is lightly browned and feels firm to the touch, don't worry the meringue will be soft and pillowy underneath meaning it will be easy to roll.

Remove the roulade from the oven and immediately turn it out onto another sheet of parchment paper, peeling off what was the original lining. Allow the meringue to cool.

For the mascarpone filling, add the mascarpone and orange zest to a large bowl and beat together until the mascarpone is soft. In a separate bowl whisk the cream until it barely holds it shape. Fold the cream into the mascarpone in two or three additions, as you add the cream and mix it together the mixture should become a little stiffer, you want a soft cloud like mixture, that perfect light whipped cream consistency.

To assemble the roulade spread the cream evenly over the meringue and top with dollops of the compote, lightly swirling to combine. Gently roll the roulade into a tight spiral, using the parchment to help tease the meringue into shape. Don’t worry that the outside will crack a little, its part of the charm of a meringue roulade and perfection is overrated anyway.

To finish dust with a little icing sugar or top with a few extra cranberries. Serve on the day made, refrigerating until needed if not serving straight away.

Black Charcoal Doughnuts

If you have been following me on social media (basically lots of cake pictures. You know, the good stuff!) then you know Kitchenaid challenged me to come up with a recipe inspired by their limited edition Black Tie Standmixer, which you can find out about here. Well, this is that recipe. A doughnut turned ink black, using charcoal powder, filled with a delicious chocolate pastry cream, perfect for halloween next week!

Black Charcoal Doughnuts
500g strong white bread flour
50g light brown sugar
1 tsp fine salt
7g dried fast action yeast
25g black bamboo charcoal powder
4 large eggs
150ml whole milk
250g unsalted butter, diced and at room temperature

Dark Chocolate Custard
500ml whole milk
2 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
200g caster sugar
30g cocoa powder
30g cornflour
75g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

To make the chocolate custard place the milk into a large saucepan and heat over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Meanwhile whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, light brown sugar, cocoa and cornflour until smooth. Pour over the hot milk and whisk to combine. Scrape the custard back into the pan and cook, whisking constantly until the custard has thickened. Scrape the custard into a bowl and add the chocolate, mixing together until melted and combined. Press a sheet of clingfilm onto the surface of the custard and refrigerate until needed. 

To make the doughnut dough place the flour, light brown sugar, salt, yeast and charcoal powder into the bowl of a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer, fitted with the dough hook and mix together to combine. Pour in the milk and the eggs and with the mixer turned to low mix together to form a shaggy dough. Knead on low/medium speed for about 10-15 minutes or until the dough is elastic and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Start to add the butter a couple pieces at a time, until fully combined. Once the butter has been combined continue to knead until the dough is elastic again and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. This will take about 10-15 minutes. 

At this stage place the dough into a lightly greased bowl, covering with clingfilm, allow to rise until doubled in size. You can either do this at room temperature which will take around an hour or you can refrigerate the dough for about 8-10 hours. 

Tip out the risen dough and divide into 16 equal sized pieces and form into rounds. Set each ball of dough onto a square of parchment paper and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Lightly cover with clingfilm and allow to rise until almost doubled in size. To test if the doughnuts are ready for frying press one with your finger. It should spring back slowly, if it springs back quickly it needs to rise longer. 

Fill a large saucepan about 1/2 full with a neutral oil and heat over medium heat to 180C. Once the oil is at temperature turn the heat down to low so that the heat stays at 180C. Add the doughnuts 2 or 3 at a time frying for 5 minutes, flipping half way through cooking. As the doughnuts are black it is hard to tell if they are fully cooked so it is best sticking to the temperature and timings quite closely. Set the doughnuts onto a plate lined with kitchen roll to drain any excess oil. Whilst still a little warm toss in caster sugar. Set aside and allow to cool fully.

To finish use a small knife to cut a slit in the side of each doughnut. Place the custard into a piping bag fitted with a bismarck tip (a long thin piping tip used for filling doughnuts) and fill generously. These doughnuts are best served on the day they are made.