Lemon Tart

For the pastry 

Plain flour – 150 gm  

Cold Butter (unsalted)– 113 gm 

Icing sugar – 40 gm 

Egg yolk - 1 

Milk – 2 tablespoons 

 

For filling  

Double cream – 150 ml 

Lemon zest – from 1 lemon 

Lemon juice from 2 ½ lemons 

5 Eggs 

Caster sugar – 140 gm 

 

Method 

Cut the cold butter into cubes and keep it aside. 

In a bowl measure the flour and add a pinch of salt. 

Add the cold butter cubes to the flour and mix it in with your fingertips until it resembles bread crumbs.  

Make sure your hands are not getting warm as butter needs to be cold all the time.  

In another bowl mix egg yolk, milk and icing sugar.  

Add this egg yolk mixture to the bowl of flour and with a spoon and roughly bring it all together to make a rough ball.

Tip it on the worktop and make a dough without kneading much. It is important not to over work the dough and to keep the butter cold.

Shape the dough into a disc and wrap it in a cling film and refrigerate it for few hours or overnight if possible. 

Lightly dust the worktop and rolling pin with some flour. 

Take a 9 inch tart tin and lightly grease it with butter. 

Roll the disc to roughly 1/4 cm thickness and gently lift it and press it evenly on the tart tin and trim the edges.  

Chill the tart tin in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

Remove the tin from the freezer and with a fork gently prick to make few holes on the bottom of the tart. 

Line the tart tin with a parchment paper/foil or cling film and fill it with baking beans on top. 

Blind bake the tart with baking beans at 190 degree C for about 10 minutes. 

Remove the beans and bake the shell again for another 10 minutes or until its biscuity. 

Filling 

To make the filling break 5 eggs in a bowl, add sugar, lime juice and beat until mixed. 

Finally add lemon zest and give it a mix. 

Pour the filling on top of the shell and bake it in a preheated oven at 160 degree C for about 30 mins or until just set. 

Allow it cool down and them remove from tart shell and chill it until ready to serve ! 

 

 

 

 

 

Rasmalai tresleches /Rasmalai cake

 

Ingredients 

Cake flour – 185 gm/ 1 ½ cup (refer notes below for cake flour) 

Cardamom powder – 1tsp (I crushed it into a fine powder with a pestle and mortar) 

Eggs – 6 mediums (separated) 

Granulated sugar – 150 gm/ ¾ cup 

Milk – 100 ml/ ½ cup approximately

Salt – ½ tsps. 

Baking powder – 1 ½ tsp 

For soaking 

To make Ras 

Full fat milk – 500 ml ( 2 ½ cup) 

Sugar – 1tsp 

Saffron strands – 8 

Cardamom powder – ¾ tsp 

Condensed milk - I tin ( 390 ml) 

Evaporated milk 1 tin (380 gm) 

Whipping cream 

Icing sugar – 2 tablespoons 

To decorate

Pistachios

Dried rose petals ( optional)

Method 

First let’s make Ras 

In a thick bottomed pan add 500 ml milk, I tsp sugar, saffron strands and boil it on low -medium flame. Once milk boils simmer it to low flame and cook it for further 30 mins stirring every now and then to make sure that it’s not sticking to the bottom. The milk should reduce to half after 30 minutes. At this point add evaporated milk and cook on a low medium flame for 3-5 minutes. Finally add condensed milk and cook for another 2-3 mins. Add cardamom powder and remove from heat. Let it cool down completely. 

 

To make the sponge 

In a bowl mix flour, cardamom powder, salt and baking powder. Sift it and keep it aside. 

In another bowl take the egg yolks and add ½ cup sugar and beat until pale and creamy. 

Add milk and beat until mixed. 

Add dry ingredients and fold it in until incorporated. 

Whip egg whites in a squeaky-clean bowl for few minutes until soft peaks are formed. Gradually add ¼ cup sugar in a steady stream and beat until stiff peaks are formed. 

Very carefully fold the egg whites into the flour mixture with a big steel spoon until just mixed. (Steel works better not to knock the air off). Be careful not to overmix as cake become dense. 

Pour the batter into a greased deep 8-inch cake pan and bake at 180-degree Celsius for about 30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. 

Once the cake cools down cut the cake into two halves. 

Poke holes on both the layers with a tooth pick and keep it aside. 

To make whipped cream 

Place 300 ml whipped cream in a bowl and add 2 tablespoon of icing sugar, 2 tablespoons of the ras you made earlier and whip until soft peaks are formed.  

Assemble the cake 

Take one layer of the cake and pour half of the ras  slowly  on to the cake evenly giving it enough time to absorb the ras before adding more. Once it's soaked spread whipped cream on top of the layer. Place the second layer on top and  soak the cake with remain ras and spread whipped cream around the cake. Decorate the cake as you wish. I used rose petals and pistachios for decorating. 

Let the cake chill in the fridge for few hours or preferably overnight for the flavours to mingle. Enjoy! 

Notes 

To make 1 cup of cake flour, remove 2 tablespoons of plain flour from one cup of plain flour and replace it with corn flour. To make 1 ½ cup cake flour you will need to replace 3 tablespoons of flour with 3 tablespoon of corn flour.