LEMON CURD AND SHORTBREAD TART

Before I launch into how to make this delicious confection, I must thank Belinda Jeffery, a beautiful Australian cook, for the inspiration found in her marvellous book, A Month of Sundays.

Belinda is the author of at least six other cookbooks, is extremely popular on Instagram - #belindajefferyfood - and is not only a wonderful cook and an inspiring writer but also a gorgeous person whom I had the pleasure to know when we lived in Sydney.

Now, I pride myself on my apple pies and lemon tarts but never before have I applied the technique of grating pastry instead of rolling it. This is a revelation and one for which I will be forever grateful! Make this and you'll see why!

I also made a couple of small adjustments, like freezing the pastry first but it still worked perfectly.

I ❤️ you, Belinda!

SERVES 8 - 12

INGREDIENTS

SHORTBREAD PASTRY

2 + cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp fine sea salt

250g unsalted butter, at cool room temp, roughly chopped

1 cup caster sugar

2 egg yolks (from 60g eggs)

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

LEMON CURD

3 x 60g eggs

90g caster sugar

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice,

strained

90g unsalted butter, melted and

cooled a little

finely grated lemon zest (optional)

icing sugar for dusting

whipped cream or double cream to serve

METHOD

For the shortbread pastry, put the flour, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Whizz for a minute just to combine. Add the chopped butter and caster sugar and whizz again until mixture is pale and creamy. (You may need to stop the machine a couple of times to scrape down the sides.) Add the egg yolks and vanilla and pulse until mixture forms a ball around your blade. If it's still too wet, add a little more flour until it happens. It should still be very soft. Turn the pastry onto a floured surface and gently shape it into two equal sized logs. wrap in cling wrap and place in freezer for 1.5 hours.

Meanwhile to make the lemon curd, put the eggs, caster sugar into a medium sized saucepan with a heavy base. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Add the lemon juice, and zest if you're using it, and melted butter and whisk gently.

Place pan over medium to low heat and using a wooden spoon or your whisk, keep stirring until lemon mixture thickens. Do not let it boil or it will curdle. Remove from heat and pour into a clean, heatproof jug and cover. Let cool. At this stage, you can pop

it into the fridge. Time to get on with your pastry.

Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Butter or use a spray to grease a 25cm loose-based tart tin.

Remove one pastry log from the freezer and unwrap. Using the side of a box grater with the largest holes, grate the frozen pastry into the tart tin. Do this in stages, say 1/4 at a time. Rotate your tin so that the bottom is evenly covered. Don't pat down too much or you'll lose the grated effect. Now, get your lemon curd and using a palette knife, add a thick layer over the top of the grated pastry. Leave about 1cm border around the edge. Now grate the other log onto the lemon curd, same as the first one.

Place your tin on a baking sheet and pop into the oven for about 45 minutes or until, it's lovely and golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely in the tin.

Carefully, place your hand on the removable disc at the base of the tin and gently push up to release the tart. Then very gently ease the disc away from the base of the tart and place the tart on your serving plate.

Dust with icing sugar and serve with your choice of cream.