In my house, we like to have something absolutely naughty and yummy as our Sunday pudding. During the week meals are hit and run, so no time for ooey gooey naughtiness of a good pud. Sundays however, is family time and we like to sprawl in front of the evening TV after devouring our yummy roast dinner with something to make my dietitians tsk!
Easter is no exception, as a child growing up it was the good old trifle, but these days I've been set loose in the kitchen and I like to create with whatever I find in the fridge, freezer, fruit bowls and cupboards.
This year I decided on a St Clements style tart (or citrus tart) as I have some lovely Navel Oranges and a couple of lemons that I've kept by for zesting and juicing duty. This tart is wonderfully refreshing and brings a bit of summer to dull wintry days. Yes I said wintry, it may be British summer time according to the clocks, the weather however disagrees. Its also good for about now as if you're one of those people that cooks to season, then Oranges should be finishing up around now and making room for nectarines. Oh you'll still get them in the supermarkets as hot houses grow them year round, but the best oranges are available just before Christmas until the end of March.
St Clements Tart.
If you look on the internet, there are numerous versions of this tart, ranging from curd based to condensed milk based. The latter is good if you're short on time. However the version that I make is one I learnt as a 16 year old student apprentice chef. I've tweaked it, but it still tastes great.
Tart base:
200g (1 cup)8 oz Plain flour
125g (1 1/3 cup) 5oz Butter or margarine chilled and cubed
50g (1/4 cup) 2oz Sugar
1 egg
Sieve the flour and add the sugar, mix well. Add the Butter and rub in until the mixture resemble breadcrumbs, add the egg and bring the dough together. DO NOT KNEAD. Flatten into a disk and cover with cling wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 - 2 hours to rest.
Grease a 9inch loose base flan tin (or a pie tin), preheat the oven to 180c/350f.
Roll out the dough on a lightly dusted surface and then line the tin, trim the edges and keep any pastry scraps to fill any gaps. Place tin into the refrigerator for 30 mins to let the pastry settle, you can leave it longer, it stops it shrinking when it's cooked.
Line the pastry with baking parchment or foil and fill with baking beans (or rice) and place in the oven for 25 mins. Remove from the oven and tip the baking beans (or rice) into a bowl and brush the pastry with beaten egg. Return to the oven for a further 10 - 15mins until golden. Set aside.
Filling:
3 eggs
125g caster sugar
200ml Juice of 1 orange, 2 lemons and 1 lime + zest.
100ml Double cream (single can be used instead)
1 large Navel orange (you may need 2)
Whisk the sugar and eggs together until foamy. Add the juices and zest, whisking as you go. Finally add the cream and mix well. At this stage the mixture is quite slack, don't worry it will set during cooking. Pour mixture into a jug.
Set the oven to 160c/320f.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pastry base up to 3/4 full and then place into the oven, pour the remaining mixture in to the base at this point. it lessens the risk of spillage.
Bake for approx 30 minutes. The mixture will have a nice even set with a jiggle in the middle. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Peel and segment the remaining Navel orange, ensuring there are no pips or pith attached to the segments. Arrange the segments in a sunflower design on the top of the tart. (You can do it anyway you like, I just think it looks pretty this way.) If you have any cream left, you can whip it and pipe rosettes around the edges, otherwise, dust the tart with a little icing sugar and store in the fridge until you're ready to eat. Serve with a big dollop of cream.
Easter is no exception, as a child growing up it was the good old trifle, but these days I've been set loose in the kitchen and I like to create with whatever I find in the fridge, freezer, fruit bowls and cupboards.
This year I decided on a St Clements style tart (or citrus tart) as I have some lovely Navel Oranges and a couple of lemons that I've kept by for zesting and juicing duty. This tart is wonderfully refreshing and brings a bit of summer to dull wintry days. Yes I said wintry, it may be British summer time according to the clocks, the weather however disagrees. Its also good for about now as if you're one of those people that cooks to season, then Oranges should be finishing up around now and making room for nectarines. Oh you'll still get them in the supermarkets as hot houses grow them year round, but the best oranges are available just before Christmas until the end of March.
St Clements Tart.
If you look on the internet, there are numerous versions of this tart, ranging from curd based to condensed milk based. The latter is good if you're short on time. However the version that I make is one I learnt as a 16 year old student apprentice chef. I've tweaked it, but it still tastes great.
Tart base:
200g (1 cup)8 oz Plain flour
125g (1 1/3 cup) 5oz Butter or margarine chilled and cubed
50g (1/4 cup) 2oz Sugar
1 egg
Sieve the flour and add the sugar, mix well. Add the Butter and rub in until the mixture resemble breadcrumbs, add the egg and bring the dough together. DO NOT KNEAD. Flatten into a disk and cover with cling wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 - 2 hours to rest.
Grease a 9inch loose base flan tin (or a pie tin), preheat the oven to 180c/350f.
Roll out the dough on a lightly dusted surface and then line the tin, trim the edges and keep any pastry scraps to fill any gaps. Place tin into the refrigerator for 30 mins to let the pastry settle, you can leave it longer, it stops it shrinking when it's cooked.
Line the pastry with baking parchment or foil and fill with baking beans (or rice) and place in the oven for 25 mins. Remove from the oven and tip the baking beans (or rice) into a bowl and brush the pastry with beaten egg. Return to the oven for a further 10 - 15mins until golden. Set aside.
Filling:
3 eggs
125g caster sugar
200ml Juice of 1 orange, 2 lemons and 1 lime + zest.
100ml Double cream (single can be used instead)
1 large Navel orange (you may need 2)
Whisk the sugar and eggs together until foamy. Add the juices and zest, whisking as you go. Finally add the cream and mix well. At this stage the mixture is quite slack, don't worry it will set during cooking. Pour mixture into a jug.
Set the oven to 160c/320f.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pastry base up to 3/4 full and then place into the oven, pour the remaining mixture in to the base at this point. it lessens the risk of spillage.
Bake for approx 30 minutes. The mixture will have a nice even set with a jiggle in the middle. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Peel and segment the remaining Navel orange, ensuring there are no pips or pith attached to the segments. Arrange the segments in a sunflower design on the top of the tart. (You can do it anyway you like, I just think it looks pretty this way.) If you have any cream left, you can whip it and pipe rosettes around the edges, otherwise, dust the tart with a little icing sugar and store in the fridge until you're ready to eat. Serve with a big dollop of cream.
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