Dessert

Tangy lemon torte

Here is a perfectly pretty and fresh-tasting dessert which can also function as a birthday cake.
10
4H

Ingredients

Pastry layers
Lemon curd filling
To finish

Method

Pastry layers

1.Sift the flour into a large bowl and mix in the sugar. Make a well in the centre and in it place the softened butter, egg yolks and vanilla. Using your fingertips, blend together the yolks and butter and gradually work in the flour and sugar until you have a well-blended paste. (This delicious French pastry, called pâte sucrée, is traditionally made on a flat board, but a large bowl works for me. Do make it by hand, though – it’s worth it.)
2.Knead the mixture lightly until it is smooth, then wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.
3.Preheat oven to 180°C. Divide chilled dough into three and roll each piece out to a 20cm circle. To do this, draw 20cm circles in pencil, using a plate as a guide, on the back of three squares of baking paper. Turn over paper, flour it and roll out the pieces of dough to meet the lines. Use a table knife to knock the edges into place.
4.Move the paper and pastry onto two baking trays and bake for 10–12 minutes, swapping the trays around halfway through, until a pale golden colour. Leave on the trays for a few minutes before moving carefully, including paper, onto cooling racks. When they are cool, turn them over and peel away the paper.

Lemon curd filling

5.Make the filling by putting the sugar and beaten eggs into the top of a double boiler, or a heatproof bowl, and mixing until well combined. Add the lemon juice and water gradually, mixing all the time, then lastly put in the lemon zest and the chopped butter. Set over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure that the base of the bowl does not touch the water.
6.Stir the mixture for 6–8 minutes until it thickly coats the back of a wooden spoon. (This cooking time relates to using a metal bowl – in a ceramic bowl it will take several minutes longer.) Pour the curd into a sieve over a clean bowl and push it through with your wooden spoon. Leave to cool.
7.If you are assembling the torte the next day, store the pastry pieces in an airtight tin with paper between them and put the bowl of lemon curd, covered, in the fridge.

To finish

8.Whip the cream. Put 2 Tbsp of the lemon curd into a small piping bag with a plain tip, or use a zip lock bag and snip off one corner.
9.Put one layer of pastry onto a serving plate and spread over it about half the remaining lemon curd. Swirl through about 1 Tbsp of the whipped cream.
10.Place another layer of pastry on top and repeat. Put on the final layer of pastry and spread with whipped cream. Pipe lines of lemon curd across the top and make a feather pattern by drawing a fine skewer backward and forward across the lines.
11.Put the rest of the cream into a large forcing bag with a star tip and pipe rosettes around the top edge.
12.If you aren’t confident about piping, you could just spread the top with whipped cream and swirl through the lemon curd. A few toasted flaked almonds scattered around the top edge look smart and give a good crunch.
13.Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight before serving.

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