Lemon curd mini tart (Recipe)

After trying the lemon meringue pie from the Dessert Garden at the Twilight Hawkers Market, I was so keen to try making my own. I did a lemon curd version without the meringue, but I shall one day try with both. I used a shortcrust pastry for my tart cases. To stay true to my cookbook challenge, I carefully chose the lemon curd recipe from 'My Little Mini Cakes & Treats Book' which contains all the desserts that anyone would loved to eat. It is a tiny book with so many gorgeous photos and recipes. Don't we all like recipes that come with photos. I think it is what draws people to try a recipe in the first place- at least it works for me. The lemon curd tart is made up of simple ingredients- butter, lemon, sugar, flour, egg yolks- but is so delectable. It goes to showcase the use of these few ingredients at their best.

Recipe for lemon curd mini tart 

Makes: 10 mini tart approx.

Ingredients for the tart base:
130g AP flour
65g butter
A few drops of cold water

Method:
1. Prepare the tart base by mixing butter and flour, until resemble crumbs. 
2. Add water little by little until it forms a dough.
3. Cover with cling film and put in the fridge to rest for at least 1/2 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 180C.
5. Roll out dough from the fridge into your tart mould (I used a mini muffin pan) and prick with a fork. 
6. Bake for about 15 minutes at 180C 

Ingredients for lemon curd (Adapted from My Little Mini Cakes & Treats Book)
2 lg egg yolks
55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
1/2 tbs lemon zest, grated
2 1/2 tbs lemon juice
100g unsalted butter. cubed

Method:
1. Beat egg yolk and sugar in a heatproof bowl.
2. Add zest, juice and place bowl over a bain marie (saucepan with simmering water)
3. Stir in butter and let the sauce thicken for about 10 minutes (it will be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon).
4. Place in a bowl and cover surface with cling film.
5. Let cool completely.

To assemble:
1. Place lemon curd in a piping bag.
2. Pipe into the tart cases.
3. Decorate with some berries or tiny macaron.

4. Serve and enjoy.

Tasting platter from the Dessert Garden (from top left clockwise):

Raspberry tart, Nutty tart, Lemon meringue tart and Fudgy tart. 

They were all yummy, but my favourite was by far the lemon meringue tart, with the crisp meringue.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter. Have a blessed, joyful and peaceful Easter. Let us rejoice on this great occasion and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

As mentioned earlier, I made some bunny and easter egg-shaped macarons. I am pretty pleased at how they turned out. Yes, I am a happy bunny. Well, Easter would not be Easter without chocolate, so happy easter eggs hunting. It's not too late to overindulge in chocolate- I know I did.

...and here is just a sneak peak of pre-decorating the bunnies. 

Carrot Almond cake

After the success of the spiced apple almond cake, I decided to add my own twist to the recipe and turn it into a carrot cake. I did and the cake was as divine. I hardly ever like eating more than one slice of a cake, but I would dive into this one. This is definitely my kind of cake. I essentially swapped the apples for a large carrot and kept everything else together.

Recipe: Adapted from Luckynuts:

Ingredients
1 large carrot
100g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing cake pan
90g caster sugar
2 eggs
1½ tablespoons rice flour
1½ tablespoons maize cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
100g (1 cup) LUCKY ALMOND MEAL WITH CHIA
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Flaked almonds
1 tablespoon apricot jam, mixed with some warm water

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease and line base of a 20cm round tin.
2. Cut apples into quarters and remove core. Peel and cut one quarter into thin slices and reserve. Coarsely grate enough of the remaining apple to measure 11/4 cups.
3. Using an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Sift flours, baking powder and spices together over a bowl. Stir in the Almond Meal with Chia to combine well. Fold the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture. Stir in the vanilla and grated apple to combine well. Spread cake batter into prepared cake pan. Arrange the reserved apple slices over the surface.
5. Bake in oven for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the center.

                                                                                     

Hot Cross Scrolls

I found out that traditionally, hot cross buns are meant to be eaten on Good Friday and only on this day. The cross sign on the buns is to remind of Jesus on the cross. Indeed, this is the symbolism of the cross. It is widely commercial nowadays- I mean it's been on sale for what seems like forever now. It is hardly a tradition unless you find yourself waiting impatiently for Good Friday to eat them. It is a tough one. I tried the chocolate and the choc-orange ones from Coles and they were quite nice, if not a little bit too doughy to my liking. The traditional ones are made with mixed spices, but now there are different flavours to choose from. 

Well, this year I decided to make cross buns. I mean you only get the chance once a year, better use it. I tried once and it was a semi-success. I decided to make them into scrolls to differentiate from the usual square ones after stumbling across the below recipe in this week's Woolworths' catalogue. Good timing. I managed to wake up at 5.30.a.m in the morning to get started. Scrolls were ready at 7.30. I was quite happy with the result. I did not have all ingredients on hand, of course, referring to the currants and mixed peel, but I assumed it should be fine without. I also did a flour-water cross instead of the icing. I think it still looked good. The scrolls were nice. The dough itself is not sweet, but once combined with the raisins, it is well-balanced in terms of flavour. 

Time to show the steps by steps of turning the dough into scrolls. 

Flashback Friday

Today is Good Friday and I would like to take a moment to commemorate the death of Jesus, who died for us, sinners. It's been a long week and it's crazy how they are going so quickly. I hardly managed to cook this week. I simply whipped up a few simple and quick meals for the sake of not going too hungry. 

It has been a day of fasting and I'm afraid it is the only one I kept for this Lent season (in addition to Ash Wednesday). Easter is looming and I could not be happier. I just baked some macarons,  and tried making them Easter-themed with some bunny-shaped and egg-shaped ones- will share later.

Well, time to share few snaps of this week's dishes.

Bacon, pea and mushroom risotto

Veggie patty with sides

Miso carrot soup and salad on the side

Cauliflower soup

Spam, potato and cabbage stir fry

Corn, quinoa, tomato salad with coriander and avo

Roasted chicken salad

BBQ Fried rice

The Honeycake

I first came across the Honeycake last year when I attended the Good Food and Wine show. I had a taste of the cake and I was instantly a convert. It was divine- kind of sweet, but not overly, and melt-in-the-mouth with each honey cake layer separated with a creamy caramel filling. It is probably the best cake I ever tried. It is slightly addictive and on the pricey side, but it is worth it once in a while.

For more information, visit the Honeycake website:
http://www.thehoneycake.com.au/

Flashback Friday

This week has gone by so quickly. My weekend has been filled with a city challenge and a smart device photography workshop. As such, I did not have much time to cook. I will still give a glance at the few dishes I put up. This week has been rich in creamy pasta and easy sandwiches for lunch.

Baked fish, onion rings and sweet potato chips, with mushroom and spinach stir-fry

Egg avo beetroot red radish sandwich with grape tomato

Seafood mix tofu stir-fry with garlic green beans

Lamb kebab with avo

Sweet round

Macaron, chocolate brownie, vanilla ice cream and creme patissiere filled puff pastry. These are probably one of my favourite sweet treats. I mean you cannot go wrong with any of these. I have been trying to perfect my 'quenelle' shaping which is a really good technique to master for dessert plating- ice cream, sorbet or whipped cream. I do not always get it right, kind of still a tricky business for me. You need to place a spoon in hot water, tap excess water and roll the cream in an upward motion. The hot water will give a shiny finish. It demands lot of practice to get it right.

However, I am very pleased with my macarons. The ones in the photos are filled with buttermilk creme patissiere. This made the macaron soft with a slight bite from the crust- just the way I like it. What can I say about the brownies? Almond filled with a gooey centre.