Simply the zest

Published on Tuesday 21 April 2009 15:14

THIS TIME LAST YEAR I WROTE ABOUT LEMONS, and I find myself inspired to give more thought to the same subject this year – with no fear of repetition. Lemons are, for me, an invaluable ingredient. A lemon pud makes the perfect end to a meal, but with one important proviso – the flavour must be intense. Nothing disappoints more than a bland taste, with insufficient lemon used.

My first recipe uses lemon in a cake that contains no flour. Instead, it uses ground almonds. I find that buying whole or flaked almonds, dry-frying them until they are pale beige in colour, then pulverising them in a food processor gives a far better result than that obtained using bought ground almonds, which too often taste musty and stale. The slightly marzipan taste of this gungy textured cake is enhanced by the strong lemon flavour, and it is perfect to serve with any soft fruit throughout the summer. It keeps very well for three to four days in an airtight container, and you can freeze it too.

Lemon and ginger syllabub is simplicity itself to make, is better for being made up to 24 hours before eating, and is therefore a real boon for most of us who have little time (or inclination) for last-minute kitchen activity when entertaining. I like to serve this in small wine glasses.

And lemon delice is a recipe given to me many years ago by one of the best chefs the UK has produced, Francis Coulson, of Sharrow Bay. He died some years ago, but the food at Sharrow was my earliest recollection of any chef using and naming local produce on his menus – a practice we followed and have continued ever since. The food at Sharrow in those days was exquisite, and lemon delice was one of my favourite desserts.

LEMON AND ALMOND CAKE

SERVES 12

8oz/225g butter

8oz/225g caster sugar

4 large eggs

8oz/225g almonds, dry-fried until toasted to pale beige colour, cooled, then pulverised in a food processor

a few drops of almond extract – no more than half a teaspoon

finely grated rind of 3 lemons, well washed and dried before grating

juice of 1 lemon

lemon glace icing (optional), made by beating 3oz/85g sieved icing sugar with sufficient lemon juice to make the result just spreadable on the top of the cooled, baked cake

Line the base of a non-stick springform cake tin, about 9in/22cm diameter, with a disc of baking parchment. If the cake tin isn't non-stick, butter it thoroughly and dust it out with sieved flour before lining it.

Beat together the butter and caster sugar very well, until the mixture is fluffy and pale. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, alternating with a spoonful of the pulverised almonds. Beat in the almond extract. I use an electric hand-held whisk up to this point. Use a wooden spoon to beat in the grated lemon rinds and juice – it saves you having to pick the lemon rind from the whisks.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared cake tin, smooth it even and bake in a moderate oven, 180C/350F/ Gas Mark 4, for 45 minutes. If the surface of the cake looks to be browning too much (ovens vary much more than you may think) loosely cover the top with foil. Alternatively, reduce the heat by a quarter, and cook for 15-20 minutes longer. Test by sticking a knife into the middle of the cake; if it emerges very sticky, continue the cooking for ten minutes and test again.

Cool the cake in its tin for 20 minutes before carefully releasing the spring sides of the cake tin, carefully removing the base, and leaving the cake to cool completely on a wire rack. When quite cold, peel the base paper from the cake. If you are icing the cake, wait to do this when the cake is on its serving plate and quite cold.

LEMON AND GINGER SYLLABUB

SERVES 6

1 pint/570ml double cream

3 tablespoons ginger wine

juice of 1 lemon

finely grated rind of 2 large or 3 smaller lemons

6 pieces of preserved ginger, drained of syrup, and each piece diced finely and neatly

Put the cream, ginger wine and lemon juice into a large bowl. Whisk them until very thick. Stir the grated lemon rinds and diced preserved ginger through the thick syllabub, then divide it between six glasses. Cover loosely with clingfilm and leave in the fridge overnight or for several hours before serving.

LEMON DELICE

This is good served with a spoonful of pured and sieved sweetened raspberries drizzled over each turned-out delice.

SERVES 6 TO 8

juice of 2 lemons

4 leaves of gelatine, soaked in cold water

2 large eggs, separated

4oz/110g caster sugar

8oz/225g cream cheese (I use Philadelphia)

1/4 pint/140ml single cream

finely grated rind of 2 lemons

1/4 pint/140ml double cream, whipped but not too stiffly

This fills six large ramekins or eight slightly smaller ones. Line each with a double thickness of clingfilm, using a small wad of kitchen paper to push the clingfilm into the edges of each ramekin. You can use other shaped moulds if you prefer.

Heat the lemon juice, then let any excess water drip off the gelatine leaves before dropping them into the juice in the pan. Swirl around and the gelatine will dissolve almost instantly.

Bring a saucepan of water to simmering point. Put the egg yolks and caster sugar into a Pyrex bowl that fits over the saucepan and whisk them together over the simmering water until the mixture is very thick. Whisk in the hot lemon juice and gelatine, then take the bowl from the heat and continue to whisk the mixture for about five minutes. Leave to cool.

Beat the cream cheese and single cream together very well. Beat in the cooled egg yolks mixture and, using a wooden spoon, add the grated lemon rinds. Then, using a metal flat whisk, fold in the whipped double cream.

Whisk the 2 egg whites until stiff, and fold them through the lemon and cream cheese mixture. Divide between the lined ramekins or moulds, cover loosely with clingfilm and leave overnight in the fridge.

Before serving, take the lemon delices from the fridge. Turn them out onto individual plates, lift off the ramekins or moulds and carefully peel off the clingfilm. Serve with a spoonful of raspberry sauce, or with crisp vanilla biscuits or shortbread. Turn out the delices as soon as you take them from the fridge, but do this before starting your meal to allow them to reach room temperature – they will taste so much better.

When choosing lemons opt for bright yellow fruits with no green tinges and with a smooth, oily surface.