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Apr 24, 2024

When life gives you lemons? Make Annabel Langbein’s luscious citrus dessert recipes

Share this article Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read. Silky lemon tart. Photo / Annabel Langbein Media There’s nothing like a head cold to make you appreciate the

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Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Silky lemon tart. Photo / Annabel Langbein Media

There’s nothing like a head cold to make you appreciate the humble lemon. Its tangy, vitamin-rich juice squeezed into a cup and mixed with a small spoon of honey and hot water is such a timeless balm. I often like to add some grated ginger and a pinch of cayenne, or occasionally, in the evening, a tot of whiskey, to keep a cold at bay.

Lemons are good for so many things, apart from their indispensable role in cooking. I was browsing Lady Wardington’s little book Superhints for Cooks, an eccentric compilation of kitchen wisdom, published in 1994, with contributors as divergent as Yehudi Menuhin, Diana Rigg, Clement Freud and Bob Geldof. On the subject of lemons, the Marquess of Anglesey tells us, “When a soup is bland or worse, especially in British Rail restaurant cars, add a little sugar. And hardly any soups fail to taste better for a splosh of Cognac and a good squeeze of lemon.” Mrs Gladys Humphrey advises … “You can keep peeled potatoes white if you add a squeeze of lemon or a slice or two to the cold water in which they are waiting.” I particularly liked this advice from Lady Hylton: " Any citrus peel will dry in the Aga’s coolest oven (or on a baking sheet in the airing cupboard or on a radiator) and will make very good firelighters. Ecology-conscious children may enjoy coating the dried peel with melted candlewax.” Housekeeper Veronica Hubbard suggests, " You can keep the smell of cabbage from spreading to every room by putting a slice of lemon in the cooking water.”

These days, how many of us might boil a cabbage for so long that it stinks out the house, peel bulk pots of potatoes a day or two in advance, or even light fires for our cooking? As much as anything, the book reflects the culture of Britain 50-odd years ago. But the versatility of a lemon remains undiminished.

Try adding a teaspoon or two of lemon juice into a pot of creamy mashed potatoes. You can’t pinpoint the change, but it’s very good. And a squeeze of lemon juice brushed over a chicken will produce a delicious golden skin. If I’m dealing with fish or other seafood, I often rub my fingers in the shells of used lemons to remove fishy smells, and the juice also whitens my fingernails.

While lemons are in season, and cheap and plentiful, I can’t get enough of them. There’s hardly a dish that doesn’t benefit from lemon’s fragrant brightness. Finely zested lemon rind (take care not to zest too deeply as the white pith will be bitter) is always welcome in a cake, muffin or pancake batter, as well as in meat, seafood and chicken dishes, while the freshness of lemon juice adds a lively finish to everything from a rich casserole to a simple salad dressing.

And, of course, where would we be without lemons for luscious desserts like these?

This sublime tart can be made up to a day ahead and chilled until needed.

Ready in 1¼ hours + chilling

Serves 10-12

½ recipe homemade sweet pastry (see below) or 2 sheets store-bought sweet shortcrust pastry

1 egg white, lightly beaten (reserve yolk for filling)

LEMON FILLING

7 eggs plus 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

1¼ cups caster sugar

1¼ cups thickened or plain cream

¾ cup lemon juice

Zest of 3 lemons, finely grated

TO SERVE (optional)

Icing sugar, to dust

Fresh raspberries, to garnish

Thickened or whipped cream, to serve

Grease the base and sides of a shallow 28-30cm tart tin with a little oil or butter.

If using a block of pastry, cut into slices about 5mm thick, arrange slices in a single layer in the tart tin and press together to cover the base and sides. If using pastry sheets, stack one on top of the other and roll out on a lightly floured bench until big enough to line the tin. Lift into tin and press into place. Prick base with a fork then chill for 15-20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 180C fan bake.

Top pastry with baking paper then dried beans or rice and bake blind until pastry is no longer sticky (about 15 minutes). Lift out baking paper and beans or rice (reserving for future use), brush pastry lightly with egg white and return to oven until dry and lightly golden (a further 5-10 minutes). Reduce the oven temperature to 130C fan bake to cook your filled tart.

To make filling, combine all ingredients in a pot and warm very gently over a low heat until just lukewarm (about 50C). Don’t let it get too hot. Pour filling through a sieve into cooked tart case. (To prevent spills, place tart case in the oven first.) Bake at 130C until just set (30-35 minutes). It will still have a little wobble in the centre but will firm as it cools.

Allow to stand for an hour before serving chilled or at room temperature. If desired, dust with icing sugar, garnish with raspberries and serve accompanied by thickened or whipped cream.

It’s hard to halve an egg, so this recipe makes enough pastry for two large tarts, 24 individual tarts or about 50 mini tarts. If you don’t need it all, freeze the rest for another day, or keep it in the fridge for up to a week. This melt-in-the-mouth pastry is the one to use for any kind of sweet tart.

Ready in 10 mins + resting

Makes about 750g

250g butter, at room temperature

½ cup sugar

1 egg

2½ cups flour

Beat together butter and sugar in a food processor or mixer until fluffy and creamy. Add egg and beat to combine. Add flour and pulse until just combined. Turn pastry out on to a lightly floured board (it will be quite soft) and use floured hands to shape into 2 portions.

Wrap separately in waxed paper and store half in the fridge or freezer. Chill the remaining half for at least 30 minutes before using.

Sweet and tart all at once, this is one of those super-simple desserts you can whip up in a flash. Frozen blueberries work well too.

Ready in 1 hour

Serves 6

60g butter

Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated

¼ cup caster sugar

2 eggs, separated

¼ cup self-raising flour or gluten-free self-raising flour

1 cup milk

¼ cup lemon juice

250g blueberries

Icing sugar, to dust

Preheat the oven to 180C fan bake.

Using an electric mixer or beater, whisk together butter, zest and sugar to combine. Beat in the egg yolks until mixture is smooth and creamy. Sift in the flour and stir to combine, gradually adding the milk to make a smooth batter. Mix in the lemon juice until evenly combined.

In a very clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with an electric mixer or beater until they form stiff peaks and then gently fold into the batter. Place blueberries in a 6-cup capacity heatproof bowl and add the batter. Place bowl in a roasting dish and fill the roasting dish with enough warm water to come halfway up the sides of the bowl. Bake until sponge has risen and golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (about 40 minutes). Allow to stand for a few minutes before dusting with icing sugar and serving.

Syrup cakes are popular in Greek cooking and for good reason - they are never heavy and the syrup makes them incredibly moreish. The syrup keeps for months in the fridge and makes a great garnish for a wedge of cake or tart.

Ready in 45 minutes

Serves 8-10

¾ cup self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ cup semolina

1 cup ground almonds

125g unsalted butter

1 cup caster sugar

Zest of 1 lemon and ½ orange, finely grated

1 tsp natural vanilla essence

3 eggs, at room temperature

60ml lemon juice

12-16 whole peeled almonds, to garnish

LEMON ANISE SYRUP

1½ cups water

2 cups sugar

Peeled rind of 3 lemons, no pith

6 cardamom pods

1 vanilla pod

3 whole star anise

TO SERVE

Creme fraiche or whipped cream

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 23cm spring-form cake tin. Combine flour, baking powder, semolina and ground almonds in a mixing bowl. In another bowl beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Beat in zests and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir in half the flour mixture then the lemon juice. Stir in the remaining flour mixture until evenly combined.

Pour mixture into the prepared tin, top with almonds and bake for 30-35 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, make the syrup. Place all ingredients in a pot and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil until syrupy, about 10 minutes. Cool and strain into a clean jar or bottle.

Brush ¼ cup of lemon anise syrup over the hot cake. Serve with creme fraiche or whipped cream on the side.

by Yvonne Lorkin

(Silky lemon tart)

No8 Distillery Limoncello 700ml ($50)

Limoncello is a liqueur mainly produced in Sorrento, Capri, and along the Amalfi coast of southern Italy from the zest of Femminello St Teresa lemons. However, Julien Delavoie, the owner, distiller, fire warden, health & safety manager and social club secretary at No8 Distillery in Dunedin, has perfected his own, crafted from peels from organic Gisborne-grown meyer and yen ben lemons. They’re steeped in alcohol (created in “Therese”, his Franken-machine still) until their oils are released then the result is mixed with a pure simple syrup to create a liqueur that’s beyond luscious when sipped with this spoon-lickable lemon tart. Wickedly lovely and worth every cent. No8distillery.com

(Greek almond citrus cake with lemon anise syrup)

Oak Estate Hawke’s Bay Methode Traditionelle NV ($45)

With its soft creamy aromatics and green apple and lemon layers, this ultra-fresh fizz offers delicious tension and tautness that, when paired with a few choice crumbs of this evil genius cake, is guaranteed to spark joy in your maw. Its classic brioche and biscuity notes merge into soft almond-meal characters and it finishes with a lick of lemon meringue pie. Crafted from fruit grown in the Bridge Pa Triangle by Nadine and Stefan Loetscher, it’s gloriously good with this Greek cake. Oakestate.co.nz

(Lemon and blueberry pudding)

Italicus Rosolio Di Bergamotto 700ml ($80)

One botanical that pairs perfectly with both lemon and blueberries is bergamot. So, as you pop spoonfuls of this sublime sponge pudding into your mouth, how about washing them down with a sip of your favourite prosecco mixed with a splash of this exotically excellent liqueur? Made from authentic Calabrian bergamot oranges and Sicilian botanicals, Italicus is seductively bitter, floral and spicy, and laced with soft, honeyed citrus and herbs to finish. With a bottle that resembles the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean and looks like money on the table, Italicus will transport you straight to the Amalfi coast with every sip. Whiskyandmore.co.nz

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