Lemon tart with a twist

Do you know how I know I’m getting old(er)? I shout at the tv. I used to laugh at my parents when they shouted at the tv or sang really loudly to the radio, dismissing it as something that happens in old age, but now I am finding myself doing exactly the same thing. And I still see myself as young! (Granted, my parents certainly were when I caught them singing, but I didn’t see it like that when I was a kid)

I think we’ll always see ourselves as 20, or 25, or even 16. I insist that I will always be a 13-year-old in a however-many-years-old body. I will always laugh at cartoons, I will always wear fun pyjamas, and I will always enjoy birthdays. Although in all other ways I age: I now complain about the school kids on the train, I feel the need to discipline other people’s kids when they misbehave, and I find myself saying to Frank all the time that “back in my day, these things wouldn’t happen” about some news story or another.

One fantastic thing about being older is that I can bake what I want. And I’m still finding this a novely after many years! One of my favorite things to eat is lemon tart, I am a big fan of anything lemony. As I had a lot of cream and delicious farm-fresh eggs in the fridge I thought it was the perfect time to make my favorite dessert. I’m still not great with the pastry as I seem to burn the edges, but despite that the tart was rather tasty. I mixed in the pulp of two passionfruit to make it summery, and it went down very well at work and at home!

Lemon and passionfruit tart – from AWW’s “old-fashioned desserts”

250g plain flour

2 tablespoon icing sugar

pinch of salt

150g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

1 egg yolk

2-3 tablespoons iced water

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

pulp of 1 passionfruit

¾ cup castor sugar

1 cup cream

5 eggs

Place sifted flour, icing sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process briefly. Add butter and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and a bit of the water and process until mixture comes together in a clump, adding more water if necessary.Place the mixture onto the bench and flatten into a disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes before using.

Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan forced.Remove from the fridge and roll out to fit a 28cm fluted tart tin with a removable base. Press into the tin with pastry overhanging the edge. Prick the base of the pastry and cover with a sheet of baking paper. Line with baking beads or rice. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the beads and paper and bake for a further 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

look at the beautiful orange colour of the yolks!

Beat together the lemon juice, sugar and cream. Add the eggs one at a time. Strain mixture through a fine sieve. Pour into cooled tart shell. Bake for 25 minutes or until filling is set on the outside, but still a little bit wobbly in the centre. Allow the tart to cool completely.Serve a slice dusted with icing sugar with a dollop of crème fraîche.