tangy lemon tart

I got this recipe from Hello magazine - yes, in between the articles on who got married this week I found some surprisingly good recipes. We had this last night for pudding and it was delicious. What I would say is that you could half the filling - or at least for my flan in I didn't need it all - but it will depend on how deep your tin is.



sweet short crust pastry case, baked blind
2 tbsp icing sugar
9 eggs
400g/14 oz caster sugar
grated zest of two lemons
juice of 5 lemons
250g/9oz greek yoghurt (I used Total greek yoghurt)

Preheat the oven to 130C, 250F OR gas mark 3
Make up pastry case
Whisk eggs, caster sugar and lemon zest in a bowl until smooth
Stir in the lemon juice then add the yoghurt and mix until fully combined
you can do the above two steps in a food processor
Pour the filling into the pastry case and bake for 30 mins then leave to cool for an hour
When ready to serve, sprinkle over the left over caster sugar and place under a hot grill to caramelize

pastry case - baking blind

Last night was the first time I had ever done this. I have done flaky pastry and wee tartlets before - but not something that required 'baking blind' which my tangy lemon tart required. It kind of scared me a bit because pastry can be tricky and also there is nothing worse than a soggy bottom to your pastry pudding. But, I did it and it worked out really well!

I used Jamie Oliver's sweet shortcrust pastry recipe. I found that I only needed half the recipe for my tangy lemon tart although I would imagine if you were doing a recipe with a top over the filling you would need the whole batch.

500g plain flour
100g icing sugar
250g butter
zest of one lemon
2 large eggs, beaten
splash of milk

by hand
seive the flour into a bowl, seive over the sugar then cut the butter into cubes and rub into the sugar and flour with your fingers
You should end up with a fine, crumbly mixture
At this point you can add any flavourings you would like to the pastry
Add in the milk and eggs and gently work it together until you have a ball of dough

using food processor
seive the flour and sugar into the processor and give it a quick whizz
cut the butter into small chunks and add to the food processor and blitz until you have a fine, crumbly mix
remove from the processor into a bowl and add the milk and egg and gently work it together until you have a ball of dough

flour the dough lightly, cover in cling film and pop in the fridge for half an hour

tips
You should have nice cold hands for making the dough so you don't start to melt the butter. I am lucky because my hands are always freezing! But if you are more warm blooded - or the kitchen has been very warm with all the cooking you have been doing - run them under the cold tap for a minute or two and that will help.
I left out the lemon zest as the filling was lemon and didn't want overkill - and you can add whatever flavourings you like at the end of the dry stage.
I also only had 200g of butter - so cheated and popped in 50g of stork. It turned out fine though.

To bake blind
I needed to make a case for my tart so needed to bake blind. This is the method I used.

grease your tin with butter (if you have non-stick you may feel happy enough to not need to do this. Even with non-stick though if I am doing something delicate I like to grease!)
roll out your rested pastry to the desired size for your tin
place the pastry over the tin and then press in to fit
trim any overhanging edges

then cut a piece of greaseproof/baking paper to fit the pastry case and place inside your case
then fill the case with either uncooked rice or, if you have them, ceramic baking beans
pop the case into a hottish oven (180C, 350F, gas 4)
bake for ten minutes

after ten minutes, remove the paper and the rice/beans and bake the case for a further ten minutes or until golden

leave to cool and then fill it up!

If your case has sides, make sure the beans'rice reach up the sides or else they might flop over.

funky ceramics and glass

i love homeware that incorporate urban themes - that mix of homelyness, warmth, safety etc combined with grittier images is one that appeals to me - and i found an artist called snowden flood who does just that.

she is an interior accessories designer based in London and her work celebrates urban and rural landscapes through an ongoing exploration of the theme of souvenirs and keepsakes

i love the river series of plates - which picks out bridges and scenes you can see from the rivers in London

i also like the wintery glasses she has done - which are more focused on nature - but the white on black gives it that edge

and the barbed wire cup and motorway plate


and she does t-shirts!


i think the clean colours and lines are really effective and while some pieces are expensive - some of the plates can go up to around £80 - if you had two or three mixed in with plain white then you could still have a slice of the action on a budget.

pretty wardrobe

I spotted this lovely wardrobe (£725) by the French Bedroom Company - I don't normally go for fancy style furniture but what I like here is that it is a pretty and detailed finish but with a simple wardrobe frame -I reckon if you kept everything else in the room simple this could make a great centerpiece to a room. Only problem being I would need about five to fit my extensive collection of clothes and shoes...

wooden furniture

Two things I like looking for are lovely big fireplaces and mantlepieces and beautiful chairs. This is probably because I love sitting in front of the fire reading a book or newspaper with a pot of tea and a tasty slice of cake. I found this site for solid wood furniture by Steven Burgess and Peter Lyon that can be finished to your own spec and made to the size that would fit your space. Thier furniture looks lovely and will be keeping them in mind when I come to furnish my dream house!

book ends

I love my books and like seeking out cool bookends for them. I found this pair at the hiccup gifts website. The site has a variety of kitsch type gifts - some of which are good and some not so good - but they get the thumbs up for these. And at £14.99 they are a wee bargain too.

my dream desk

I have always imagined having a lovely sunny room, lined with bookshelves with some comfy chairs, a coffee machine and an elegant yet sturdy desk for me to read, write and dream at. Well, I have at least found the desk! The winner of this year's Grand Design (best furniture design) is the Yves desk from Pinch Design and I love it to pieces. The best pic is on the front page of the website so go visit - I just have the one below - although it still makes me wish I had a spare £1850.



It is sleek and simple and I love the green leather surface. I hate desks that have bits and pieces under the main surface - racks or drawers - I like space to wriggle my legs about! Also - while you can't see it, there are management holes in the back in case you have computer equipment you want to hook up on the desk but keep tidy and neat and not detracting from the beauty of the desk itself. I am sure if I had this desk that Booker prize winning novel would be produced in no time...