Lemon Tart

For the pastry:

For the lemon filling:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/ gas mark 4.

2. Begin by making the pastry. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar.

3. Add the flour, a pinch of salt, 2 eggs and a tbsp of water. Mix until a sticky dough is formed.

4. Leave the dough to chill for 2 hours.

5. Once chilled, dust a clean surface with flour and roll out the pastry mix.

6. Place the pastry in a tart tin, cover with non-stick baking paper and fill with baking beans.

7. Bake the pastry for 20 minutes, and then set aside to cool.

8. For the lemon filling; whisk together the lemon juice, caster sugar and 4 eggs.

9. Pass the mixture through a sieve, before adding double cream and the zest of 3 lemons.

10. Pour this mixture into the cooled tart case, and bake again for 40-45 minutes until set.

11. Leave to cool somewhere warm (to avoid cracking) and once done so, sprinkle some icing sugar across the top.

Try not to overwork the pastry, otherwise it will be hard, and lose its crumbly texture. To test if the lemon filling is cooked, insert a sharp knife into the centre and pull slightly to one side. If you can see the base, then it’s cooked.