Lemon Tart

Having always wanted to make a Lemon Tart but never having made one, I thought I would make one.  It was a little time consuming, only because of the pastry but it was worth the effort.  

A hint here, if you don't have cooking beads or spare rice, a good idea to blind bake is to cover the pastry with baking/parchment paper then fill with scrunched cooking foil.  Works very well.

*Taken from The Australian Women's Weekly 'All-Time Favourites', page 44, published 1977*

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups (185g) plain flour

1/3 cup (55g) icing sugar mixture

1/4 cup (30g) ground almonds

125g cold butter, chopped

1 egg yolk

Lemon Filling

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind

1/2 cup (125ml) lemon juice

5 eggs

3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar

1 cup (250ml) thickened cream

Method

Blend or process flour, sugar, almonds and butter until combined; add egg yolk, process until ingredients just come together.  Knead dough on floured surface until smooth; wrap in plastic, refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll pastry between sheets of baking paper until large enough to line 24cm round loose-based flan tin.  Lift pastry into tin; press into side, trim edge.  Cover; refrigerate 1 hour.

Cover pastry with baking paper, fill with dried beans or rice, place on oven tray.  Bake in a moderately hot oven for 15 minutes.  Remove paper and beans, bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned; cool.  Pour lemon filling into pastry case then bake in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes or until filling has set slightly; cool.  Refrigerate until cold; dust with sifted icing sugar, if desired.

Lemon Filling Method

Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl; stand for 5 minutes.

Serves 8

Strawberry and Cinnamon Torte

Yum.  Easy.  How could you resist not making it??

*Taken from a Good Food Magazine '101 Tempting Desserts', pg 160, published 2006*

Ingredients

175g/6oz ground almonds

175g/6oz butter, softened

175g/6oz golden caster sugar

175g/6oz self-raising flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk

450g/1lb strawberries, hulled and sliced

icing sugar, for dusting

whipped cream mixed with greek yoghurt, to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan-forced).  Butter and line the base of a loose-bottomed 23cm cake tin.  In a food processor, mix the ground almonds, butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon, egg and egg yold until evenly mixed.

Tip half the mixture in the tin and smooth.  Spread with the strawberries on top.  Top with the remaining cake mixture.  Spread smooth.

Bake for 1 hour - 1 hour 5 mins.  Check after 40 minutes - if the torte is getting too brown, cover loosely with foil.  When cooked, the torte should be slightly risen and dark golden brown.

Cool slightly, then remove from the tin.  Slide onto plate and dust with icing sugar.  Serve warm, in wedges, with spoonfuls of cream and yoghurt.

Serves 6-8

Baked Banana Cheesecake

I made this, a first for me. A baked cheesecake. Pretty easy to make and full of flavour. I made it on the occasion of my father's birthday...

*Taken from 'The Australian Women's Weekly All Time Favourites' published 1997*

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour
1/4 cup (40g) icing sugar mixture
90g butter
2 egg yolks
1 tbs water, approximately

Banana Filling
2 x 250g packets cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (approx 3 large bananas)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbs vanilla essence
1 tbs rum, optional

Method
Grease 22cm springform tin.

Sift dry ingredients together; rub in butter, add egg yolks and enough water to make the ingredients cling together. Press mixture into a ball; knead on floured surface until smooth. Cover with plastic; refrigerate 30 minutes.

Press pastry evenly into prepared tin to cover base and sides, trim edge, lightly prick base with fork. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes.

Cover pastry with baking paper, fill with dried beans or rice. bake in moderately hot oven 10 minutes; remove paper and beans, bake 15 minutes or until browned lightly. Cool.

Pour filling into pastry case. Bake in moderate oven about 1 1/4 hours or until set; cool. Cover cheesecake; refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Banana Filling Method
Beat cheese and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer until smooth; add remaining ingredients, beat until smooth.

Serves 8-10

Strawberries and Cream Meringue Cake

I was a little unsure how this would turn out but I need not have worried. It was delicious - just like out of a cafe display case. Pretty posh and very yummy.

The recipe calls for 'golden caster sugar', I just used ordinary caster sugar so the cake turned out a little paler than the piccie they had in the book...

*Taken from BBC Books 'Good Food Magazine 101 Tempting Desserts' published 2006* - a UK mini cookbook

Ingredients
-for the cake-
100g butter, at room temperature
plus extra for greasing
100g golden caster sugar
1 large egg, plus 2 egg yolks (keep the whites for the meringue)
85g self-raising flour
25g shelled pistachios, finely ground
2 tbs milk

-for the meringue-
2 large egg whites
100g golden caster sugar

-for the topping-
284ml carton double cream, softly whipped
200g strawberries hulled, sliced or left whole

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan forced. For the cake, butter and lime the bottom of a 20cm/8in round, loose bottomed sandwich tin with greaseproof paper. Beat the butter and sugar together for 3-4 minutes until pale and creamy. Beat in the egg and egg yolks. Gently stir in the flour and ground nuts alternately with the milk. Spoon into the tin and level it smooth.

Make the meringue. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Whisk in the sugar, a couple of spoonfuls at a time, until smooth and glossy. Spoon into the tin and spread it. Bake for 45 minutes until the meringue feels crisp.

Leave in the tin to cool, then loosen the edges with a knife and remove. Peel off the paper and leave until cold. Spoon the cream over the meringue, then the strawberries.

Serves 8

White Chocolate Cheesecake

Owww...I love a good cheesecake. Especially ones that taste like this... Cheesecakes are very simple to make, but only if you have the use of electric beaters...

*Taken from the 'Kraft' website*

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups chocolate cream filled biscuit crumbs

60g butter, melted

500g Philadelphia cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup caster sugar

200g white chocolate buttons, melted

1/2 cup thickened cream

2 tsp gelatine, dissolved in

1/4 cup boiling water

3/4 cup thickened cream, extra, whipped

1 tbs drinking chocolate, for dusting

Method

Combine biscuit crumbs and butter together; press into the base of a lightly greased 22cm spring form pan. Chill.

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, white chocolate, cream and dissolved gelatine, continue beating until smooth.

Pour mixture onto prepared crumb base and refrigerate 2 - 3 hours until set, or overnight. Remove cheesecake gently from pan, spread over with whipped cream and dust generously with drinking chocolate.

Quick Apple Crumble

I had bought some apples very cheaply on my weekly shop and decided to make an apple crumble, one of my favourite comfort foods. This was quick, easy and oh-so-yummy. Enjoy.

*Taken from the website 'Taste'*

Ingredients

800g canned apple (I stewed my own)

3/4 cup plain flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

150g butter, chilled, cubed

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup desiccated coconut

Method

Heat oven to 200C. Spoon apple into a 6-cup capacity ovenproof dish.

Place flour, sugar and butter into a food processor and process until it resembles breadcrumbs.(I did this method by hand). To this, add the oats and coconut and mix.

Spoon oat mixture over the apple and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.

Margaret Fulton's Pavlova

Another wet day here at home, so what better thing to do but bake? With plenty of eggs sitting in the fridge and some cream nearing it's expiry date, what's better than to decide to bake a pav! I used 4 egg white and 1 1/2 cups caster sugar in this recipe, which Margaret recommends for a smaller, family-sized pavola, but leaving everything else the same. I also always dust my baking sheet with cornflour when baking pavs to ensure it doesn't stick!! Enjoy.

*Taken from 'Margaret Fulton's Kitchen'*

Ingredients

6 egg whites, at room temperature

a pinch of salt

2 cups caster sugar

1 1/2 tsp white vinegar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1 1/4 cups cream

fresh fruit to decorate

Method

Preheat oven to 200C. Place a piece of baking paper onto a baking tray and mark a 23cm circle on it to use as a guide (the pavlova will spread a little).

In an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt at full speed until they stand in stiff peaks. Sift the sugar and gradually sprinkle into the egg white mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating at high speed until all the sugar has been added. Lastly fold in the vinegar and vanilla. Spoon large dollops inside the circle on the baking sheet and smooth over the top lightly. Place in the oven (reducing the heat to 150C) for 1 hour. Turn off the heat and leave pavlova in the oven until cold. (If using a gas oven, bake at 150C for 1 hour, reduce heat to 120C for a further 30 minutes and then turn heat off and leave the pavola in the oven until completely cooled.)

When the pavlova is cooled, slide onto a large, flat cake plate, removing the baking paper. Don't worry if it collapses slightly, you should also expect cracks on the surface. Whip the cream until stiff but still shiny and spoon over the top of the pavlova. Decorate with fresh fruit and serve.

Serves 8-10

Grandmother's Pavlova

When people visit I have made a deal with myself to make a dessert of some kind. Because deep down I love desserts but never have them because my 'other half' doesn't 'do' desserts. So since we have had a friend staying, it is as good as an excuse as any to make this wonderfully easy and oh-so-yummy pavlova.

*Taken from 'Comfort Food', a Family Circle step-by-step book*

ingredients
4 egg whites
1 cup caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour
1 tsp white vinegar
whipped cream
fresh fruit

Preheat oven to a warm 140 degrees. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Place the egg whites and a pinch of salt in a small, dry bowl. Using electric beaters, beat until stiff peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating constantly after each addition, until the mixture is thick and glossy and all the sugar is dissolved.

Using a metal spoon, fold in the cornflour and vinegar. Spoon the mixture into a mould on prepared tray. Lightly flatten the top of the pavlova and smooth the sides. (This pavlova should have a cake shape and be about 2.5 cm high.) Bake for about 1 hour, or until pale cream in colour and crisp. (Should sound hollow if you knock on it.)

Leave to cool completely in the oven.

When cool, decorate with the cream and fresh fruit.