Lovely Lemons

With our brief summery spell came a desire to conjure up something fragrant and zesty in the kitchen – lemons would do the trick. Lemon curd is a curious thing and ‘curd’ is a curious word, not pretty-sounding like marmalade or cordial and not doing justice to the punchy sweet-sharp flavour that it delivers. 

So, out came the trusty microplane and I set to zesting and juicing. Really ripe lemons are best for this, a lot of supermarket bought lemons are rock-hard with a greenish tinge, which won’t yield much juice or a flavoursome zest. I find lemons from greengrocers or markets are much better, alternatively buy your lemons in advance and let them soften up on the windowsill.

Lemon curd

Zest and juice of 2 large, unwaxed lemons 

100g sugar

50g butter

2 large eggs

2 egg yolks

1.  Place the lemon zest, juice, sugar and butter into a pan and heat gently until the butter has melted

2.  Combine the eggs and egg yolks with a fork and then stir into the lemon mixture. Whisk regularly 

with a balloon whisk as the curd cooks and thickens up to a custard-like consistency. It'll take around

10-15 mins to thicken and takes a little patience but don’t be tempted to turn the heat up otherwise

you’ll end up with a curdled mess. 

3. Remove from the heat and leave to cool in a bowl or pop into sterilised jars if you're not going to use

it immediately. It'll keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. 

And here’s what I whipped up with my lemon curd…

Pavlova with homemade lemon curd and berries

The blues and yellows of the lemon curd and berries look beautiful against the crisp, white meringue nest. This is a great centre piece for a party and can be made in advance too, an all round crowd-pleaser.

Serves: 8-10

6 large egg whites

300 caster sugar

1 tsp corn flour

Pinch of salt

Blueberries, blackberries and mint to decorate

300ml double cream

Half a jar of homemade lemon curd (as above)

1. Preheat the oven to 120C. In a squeaky clean bowl (I wipe the cut side of half a lemon around the bowl to get rid of any grease) whisk the 6 egg whites and pinch of salt until they form stiff peaks, then add the caster sugar a spoonful at a time until you have a glossy, thick mixture. Whisk in the cornflour.

2    2. Spoon the mixture onto a lined baking tray or dish. I use a large white, flat, oven-proof gateau plate as then I don't have to transfer it from the baking tray and therefore avoid cracks! Smooth it into a rough circle (approx.20-25cm) piling it up around the edges and indenting in the centre. 

      3.  Bake for 2 hours 15mins and then switch the oven off and leave the Pavlova inside to cool completely before removing. If you bring it out whilst it’s still hot it’ll be more prone to cracking.

      4. Whisk the double cream until it just starts to thicken and pile it into the centre of the pavlova. Spoon over the lemon curd and swirl it through the cream. Top with blueberries, blackberries, chopped mint and lemon zest.

Lemon curd and poppy seed cupcakes

A friend’s birthday brought about another timely lemon curd fest. The spoonful of lemon curd within each cupcake gives a sweet-sharp hit plus a nice gooey middle against the fluffy sponge.

Makes: 12 cakes

125g soft butter

125g self-raising flour

125g caster sugar

2-3tbsp milk

2 large free-range eggs

1 tbsp poppy seeds

Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

12 tsp lemon curd

125g soft butter

250g icing sugar

1tsp vanilla paste

Poppy seeds for sprinkling

Lemon zest for decorating

     1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a bun tin with paper cases

     2. I use an electric hand whisk, but you can equally do this by hand with a bit of elbow grease! Whisk the eggs and butter together until they’re pale and fluffy, add the eggs gradually until combined.

     3. Fold through the flour and poppy seeds before adding 2-3tbsp of milk depending on consistency. You want the mixture to drop off the spoon fairly easily but not be too runny.

     4. Spoon the mixture into the cases and pop a teaspoon of lemon curd in the centre of each.

     5. Bake in the oven for approx. minutes until golden and cooked through, then remove and transfer to a wire rack until cool.

     6. To make the icing whisk the butter, icing sugar and vanilla together and spoon into a piping bag. Pipe a swirl of icing on top of each cooled cake and sprinkle each with poppy seeds and a little grated lemon zest.