LEMON FRIDGE TART

Every year we set off to France for our summer break with my Mum and Dad and every year I say I am going to eat sensibly.  What happens - my Mum dishes up her famous lemon fridge tart and all my resolve goes out the window and it is pretty much down hill from that moment. 

This fridge tart is very sweet but if you serve it with a raspberry sauce and some dark chocolate it is pure heaven.  It freezes beautifully - I cut mine into portion sizes and then open freeze until just frozen.  Once frozen, pack into a Tupperware dish and keep in the freezer until needed.  I decorate mine once it has defrosted and voila you have a super quick dessert for those unexpected guests.

LEMON FRIDGE TART

For the printable version - click here

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: n/a

Total time: 15 minutes plus time in the refrigerator

Yield: 12 servings (you only need a small piece)

Ingredients

• 1 tin condensed milk (397g)
• 200 ml fresh lemon juice
• 250g coffee creamer
• 30 ml water
• 250g Tennis biscuits

 

Cooking Directions

1.  Pour the condensed milk and lemon juice into a bowl and mix together until thick.
2. In another bowl put the coffee creamer, water and some of the condensed milk mixture and mix immediately until well combined.
3. Add the rest of the condensed milk mixture and beat again until well combined.
4. Line a tin - roughly 12" x 6" with one layer of biscuits.
5. Pour half the condensed milk mixture on top of the biscuits and spread out evenly.
6. Add another layer of biscuits.
7. Add the rest of the condensed milk mixture and spread out evenly.
8. Place in the refrigerator for at least one day.
9. To serve - decorate with raspberry sauce and chocolate curls.

""Note""  I think Tennis biscuits are typically a South African biscuit.  In the UK I use 'Nice' biscuits which are very similar.  They are a butter biscuit with a hint of coconut in them.

       

Written by : Angela Darroch

RED ONION MARMALADE

We don't often eat savoury relishes but if we do my favourite has to be red onion marmalade.  The sticky, sweet onions are particularly good with red meat and offset any of the salty cheeses beautifully.  Goats cheese and red onion marmalade - beautiful!!  If you can't find red onions then substitute with normal brown onions.  The marmalade can be bottled and will keep in the refrigerator for up to two months.

 

My hubby is away on a business trip tonight so I decided to treat myself to a  steak sandwich.  I found some lovely rustic bread which I heated briefly in the oven.  Whilst the bread was heating I fried my topside steak in olive oil - adding rock salt and ground pepper - 2 minutes on either side.  Once cooked I let it rest for a couple of minutes, sliced it up and added it to the warm bread with the pan juices.  I then added some warm red onion marmalade to the top and finished off with some chopped parsley.  Ten minutes in total and I had this gorgeous sandwich.  I wonder if my hubby's slap up dinner tonight was as good as this? 

RED ONION MARMALADE

 

For the printable version - click here

  

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Yield: 250 ml

Ingredients

• 4 red onions, peeled and sliced into rings
• 25 ml olive oil
• 150 ml red wine vinegar
• 250 ml red wine
• 200g sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 whole cloves
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• ½ a head of garlic
• ½ a handful of fresh thyme
• ½ a tsp Chinese five spice
• ½ a tsp ground coriander
   

Cooking Directions

1. Add the olive oil to a saucepan and fry the red onions until lightly coloured.
2. Add the vinegar, red wine and sugar and bring to the boil.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until the wine and vinegar have evaporated and the marmalade has thickened. Approximately 1 hour.
4. Bottle in a sterilised jar and keep refrigerated.

 

Written by : Angela Darroch

       

HONEY AND MUSTARD DRESSING

This super quick, easy salad dressing is definitely one of our favourites at the moment - so much so that I make double the quantity and store in the refrigerator.  A really quick dinner for us is to bake some chicken breasts in the oven, slice thinly and add to a mixed salad and serve with the honey and mustard dressing drizzled on top.



HONEY AND MUSTARD DRESSING

For the printable version - click here
 

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: nil

Total time: 10 minutes

Yield: 250 ml

Ingredients

•  125 ml mayonnaise
•  60 ml honey
•  60 ml Dijon mustard
•   1 tblsp red wine vinegar

 

 

Cooking Directions

1. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well together.
2. Refrigerate

 

Written by : Angela Darroch       

LEMON TART

I can happily spend hours in the kitchen working on a dish but like anything in life there are a few things which I just do not enjoy doing.  No. 1 on the list has to be peeling potatoes - definitely one for hubby to deal with.  No. 2 is making pastry cases.  I find it so stressful especially when it comes to making a rich shortcrust pastry.  You have to get the pastry really thin so that it is not too doughy and then of course it tears just as you drop it into the tin.  Of course you can patch it up but it never looks the same.  The next problem is getting it to dry out nicely without going too brown and of course last but not least is getting it out of the tin without breaking the edges.  No, no, no - life is too short to make your own pastry cases.  Thankfully there is a good selection of ready made ones in the shops for cowards like me.  Of course if you are a domestic goddess and prefer to make your own then this tart requires a rich shortcrust pastry case.

 I did in fact make the pastry case for my lemon tart and all was going well until I went to fill the case with the filling.  Yup - not enough filling - my tin was too deep.  I went ahead and baked the tart and when it had cooled slightly I went round the edge very carefully with a pair of kitchen scissors and trimmed down to the filling edge. 

This is not a traditional lemon tart but only because I find them too eggy (not a real word but very descriptive)?  It is nevertheless a lovely tart and very tangy and very easy.  No need to worry about the egg curdling or splitting.  It can be served plain with some icing sugar dusted over the top. Alternatively you can fancy it up a bit for a special dinner by caramelising some caster sugar on the top and serving with some sharp raspberry coulis on the side.

LEMON TART

 

For the printable version - click here



 

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

 

Ingredients

• 1 shallow 20cm sweet shortcrust pastry case
• 3 egg yolks
• 397g tin of condensed milk
• Rind from 3 lemons
• 160 ml fresh lemon juice, strained

Cooking Directions

1. In a large bowl pour condensed milk, rind and lemon juice onto egg yolks.
2. Mix well and pour into prepared pastry case.
3. Bake at 180°C (350° F) for 30 minutes or until just set.

To caramelise the top

Cut the tart into slices.

Sprinkle with caster sugar

Using a cooks blowtorch, caramelise the sugar

Sprinkle another layer of caster sugar over the top

Caramelise again.

Do not refrigerate after this step as the sugar will soften.

 

Written by : Angela Darroch

CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Today is a bit of a sad day for me - my brother and his family have set off on the final leg of their journey to set up a new life in Adelaide - 10,000 miles away.

On one hand I am so excited for them but on the other it feels like such a long distance to be separated.

In my heart I know that we have many lovely holidays to look forward to both over here and in Australia but that doesn't help how I feel in the short term. 

What's a girl to do when feeling down - get in the kitchen of course and what better ingredient to cook with than lovely, luscious chocolate.

 

 

These chocolate brownies are deliciously crisp on the outside and soft and fudgy when you bite into them. 

 Perfect as they are or add a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a delicious dessert.

CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

For the printable version - click here

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

Yield: 9 servings

Ingredients

• 100g butter
• 100g plain chocolate
• 300g caster sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 125g plain flour
• 2 tblsp cocoa powder

 

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Butter and line the base of an 18cm square tin with greaseproof paper.
3. Melt the butter and chocolate over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
4. Stir in the sugar, salt and vanilla.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well until blended.
6. Add the flour and cocoa and beat for 30 seconds until smooth.
7. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 35 - 40 minutes. The mixture should still be slightly wet if you test with a skewer.       
8. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes.  Remove and cut into 9 servings.

Written by: Angela Darroch