Lemon tarts with a cordial twist

Did you know that there are 55 uses for a lemon? Well, 56 if you count eating lemons, which is obviously our favourite use of all. These good-looking tarts put the Bottlegreen Ginger and Lemongrass Cordial to excellent use. Served with a meringue ice cream, they’re rather impressive, don’t you think?

Ingredients (serves 8-10):

For the meringue ice cream

250ml double cream
150ml cream
3-4 Tbsp castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4-5 meringues, crumbled

For the shortcrust pastry

225g cake flour
125g cold butter, chopped
½ cup icing sugar, sifted
3 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp ice cold water

For the lemon filling

1 cup cream
2 eggs
3 yolks
½ cup Bottlegreen Ginger and Lemongrass Cordial, plus extra for serving
¼ cup castor sugar
¼ cup lemon juice

Method:

1. Begin by making the ice cream, whisk the creams together with the sugar until combined and the mixture just holds its shape (careful not to over mix or the ice cream will be grainy and buttery).
2. Stir in the vanilla extract and crushed meringues and freeze until firm.

3. For the pastry, place the flour, butter and icing sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process in short bursts until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. While the motor is running, add the egg yolks and vanilla extract.
4. Add the iced water and process until the dough comes together.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and bring together to form a ball.
6. Flatten into a disc, place in a sealed container and refrigerate for 1 hour.
7. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Roll the pastry out to 3mm thick.
8. Line 8-10 lightly greased loose-bottomed small tart tins with the pastry. Trim the edges and prick the base with a fork. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes.

9. Blind bake the pastry. So, line the pastry case with non-stick baking paper, fill with baking weights or beans and bake for 10 minutes.
10. Remove the paper and the weights and bake for a further 10 minutes or until golden. Set aside to cool.
11. To make the filling, whisk all the ingredients together until combined. Pour this into the blind-baked pastry cases and bake at 140ºC for 30 minutes or until the filling is set. Allow to cool completely then refrigerate until chilled.
Serve the tarts drizzled with cordial and with a scoop of meringue ice cream.

We topped our tarts with fancy-looking candied orange twirls that we bought from a farm stall but orange and lemon slices simmered in the ginger and lemongrass cordial until soft and syrupy would also work like a charm.

Head this way to see the full range of Bottlegreen cordials.

If this lemongrass and ginger tart tickled your tastebuds, maybe its time to venture into pomegranate and elderflower cheesecake territory? Go on, be brave.