Easy peasy lemon curd

At last a new recipe post from me. I am on the home straight now with writing A Good Egg, the book that this blog has turned into, and have been a little focussed to say the least. A few days ago I received the next instalment of photos from the super talented photographer Jason Ingram and it prompted me to finally post something. And here it is, lemon curd. Possibly the easiest, and nicest, preserve ever invented?

You won’t believe how straightforward lemon curd is to make, just fling it all in a pan and warm it gently over a low heat until it thickens then pour into clean jars. Compared to the shop brought stuff, the taste is phenomenal and, like me, you’ll be cursing yourself you haven’t done it before. Provided you store it in sterilized jars and in the fridge it will last for several weeks. But to be honest I doubt it’ll be there for that long.

makes 3 jars

4 eggs

4 large lemons, juice & finely grated zest

370g caster sugar

250g unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes

1 tbsp cornflour

Begin by sterilizing 3 standard sized jam jars. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Wash both the jars and the lids in warm soapy water and rinse well. Shake off the excess water and stand in a baking tray. Slide into the oven and leave until they are completely dry.

Whilst the jars are sterilizing, add all the ingredients together in a heavy based saucepan. Set over a low heat and warm, whisking gently but pretty much continuously until it thickens. This should take around 10-15 minutes, give or take a minute here and there depending on the depth of your saucepan. You are looking for a consistency like natural yogurt. The lemon curd will thicken a little further on cooling.

Carefully pour the hot lemon curd into the clean hot jars and screw the lid on tightly. Once cold store in the fridge.

Lemon Cheesecake with raspberries

I adore a proper homemade cheesecake, its creamy velvety texture a true indulgence on so many levels. You need time and patience for the baking and the chilling, and your wallet need not be too slight either, with all that cheese, cream and fresh fruit this is far from the cheap through-it-together cakes I make on a more regular basis. And as for what the ‘health police’ would have to say….. But what a glorious treat it is and once in a while a true pleasure both to make and to eat.  Sometimes, to coin a phrase, you are worth it. And so are your loved ones. On this occasion I was inspired by the glut of cheap raspberries in the shops at the moment, but any seasonal fruit would be lovely, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries - whatever feels right. 

As a small aside, I used the leftover lemon, cut in half, to shove inside a chicken I was roasting that evening - the best strategy I know for ensuring a fragrant and moist bird. Whilst I have no plans to give up eating chicken, watching the hens up the garden as I do this gives me a new level of respect for these gorgeous feathery creatures.

A note on the tin: I normally make a cheesecake in a round spring form tin, as is the norm. But on this occasion I chose a rectangular loaf tin, simply because I fancied the idea of cutting a neat square slice rather than a wedge and I’m happy to report it worked well. But do use a more traditional round tin if you prefer.

For the biscuit base

175g digestive biscuits

45g butter, melted

For the cheesecake:

600g full fat cream cheese

125g full fat creme fraiche

2 large eggs, plus 1 yolk 

150g caster sugar

Finely grated zest 1 lemon

Raspberry topping:

300g fresh raspberries

1tbsp icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Then prepare your tin - either a 25cm diameter springform tin or a long loaf tin of about 30cm. Line the base with baking parchment, and butter well on the sides. With my loaf tin I cut a long strip that came up the sides to help lift the cake out.

Whizz the biscuits in a food processor until they form fine crumbs, then pour in the melted butter and pulse until thoroughly mixed. Tip into the prepared tin and press down firmly with the back of a metal spoon. Chill in the fridge for a few minutes whilst you make the topping.

In a clean food processor, or in a bowl with a wooden spoon, beat together the cream cheese, cream fraiche, eggs and egg yolk. When they are really smooth stir in the sugar and lemon zest. 

Take the tin out of the fridge and wrap the base and sides in a double layer of foil then lower into a large roasting tray. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the biscuit base and level a little with the flat of a knife. Add enough boiling water to the roasting tray so it comes just over halfway up the side of the cheesecake tin. Cooking in a water bath creates a more gentle and nurturing heat, resulting in a really smooth textured cheesecake. If you are going to the trouble of making a cheesecake I think this extra step has got to be worth it.

Carefully transfer the roasting tin to the oven and cook for 45 minutes. Then turn off the oven and let it cool, with the door shut, for 30 minutes. Lift it out of the roasting tray, unwrap the foil and place the tin on a cooling rack. When it has reached room temperature transfer to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours, a little longer if possible. 

Slide a knife round the tin to loosen the edges and ease out the cake. Transfer to a serving plate and scatter with about two thirds of the raspberries. Puree the remaining raspberries with a little icing sugar to make a quick coulis and drizzle over the top. 

Sticky beetroot & ginger muffins

This month, amongst a million other things, I have been developing a set of ten recipes for 'Love Beetroot', a campaign to promote English beetroot as a delicious and versatile cooking ingredient. They have specifically asked for a few baking recipes which has given me plenty of opportunity to use up quite a few of my plentiful eggs.

The girls continue to lay well, 3 or 4 eggs a day seems to be the norm. To protect the garden, they are still confined to their run and they are, rather reluctantly, getting used to the idea. And I am overjoyed that my garden is recovering. In Bristol its been a cold damp sort of week, but spring is in the air, and the shoots of daffodils and mini irises are nudging up through the cold soil. Much to my delight, the rhubarb crown I planted last year has also made an appearance though the soil. I didn't protect from the frost, and boy did we have frost, but it seems to have survived. Once it gets going and I can pick a few stems I shall treat you to a delicious recipe I conjured up last year - mini rhubarb & ginger pavlova's - a perfect treat with the first of the seasons champagne rhubarb.

But in the meantime, back to the beetroot recipes. I've devised a few that use eggs: The ultimate chocolate & beetroot cake, Beetroot & cheddar brunch bread, Beetroot, raisin & stem ginger pudding, Beetroot pancakes with smoked bacon & maple syrup, Beetroot & vanilla muffins with rose mascarpone icing, and these, Sticky beetroot & ginger muffins with lemon icing. The inspiration was the proper old fashioned sticky gingerbread we used to eat in big squidgy squares as kids.

Sticky ginger & beetroot muffins with lemon icing

Makes 12 large muffins

Preparation time:  15 minutes

Cooking time:  20 minutes

You’ll need:

For the muffins:

200g golden syrup

200g black treacle

150g unsalted butter

125g dark brown sugar

100g stem ginger, cut into fine dice

4tsp ground ginger

2tsp ground cinnamon

250g pack cooked beetroot

250ml milk

2 medium eggs, beaten

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

300g plain flour

For the icing: 

Zest 1 lemon, plus 1tbs juice

150g icing sugar

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4, line a 12 hole muffin tray with cases.

In a saucepan, add the golden syrup, black treacle, butter, dark brown sugar, stem ginger and both ground spices. Warm gently until butter and sugar have melted.

Puree the beetroot in a food processor, and blend with the eggs, milk and bicarbonate of soda. Once the butter and sugar have melted, take the saucepan off the heat and add the milk, eggs & beetroot.

Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and beat in the wet ingredients until they are smooth – batter will be quite runny.

Fill the muffin cases with the batter – this is easier if you use a jug – and bake in the preheated oven until firm but springy to the touch. Be careful not to overcook the muffins, they are nice a little sticky. Remove from the tin and allow to cool on a rack.

Whilst the muffins are cooling make the icing by beating all the ingredients to a smooth paste. Drizzle over the muffins when they are completely cold. These muffins keep really well for a few days in an airtight tin. 

A simple citrus drizzle cake - the first cake of the new year

In our house it has become a tradition to bake a cake every weekend. Not always a new cake, not always a special cake, but always a cake of some sort. Yesterday saw a truly special baking moment; the first cake of 2011, and the first ever cake with home produced eggs. The first of many - surely cakes with super fresh eggs from the garden were one of the main reasons for investing in these (very expensive) chickens?! I was ably helped by Eve, my willing 3 year old, who as usual was mostly interested in the spatula licking phase of baking, even preferring this to eating the finished product. Still, all the more for mummy.

The first cake of the new year, for me, had to be a super simple affair. I was not looking for a fudgy fancy confection of chocolate or gooey icing. A quick glance at the less than impressive post-Christmas fruit bowl gave instant inspiration; 2 rapidly yellowing limes, a slightly soft lemon, a large not-bad looking orange and a very much past it melon. The chickens had the melon, sliced into quarters and devoured with glee in a matter of minutes, as a small way of thanking them for their part in the process. The rest of the fruit were to be turned into a citrus drizzle cake, sharp yet sweet, simple and pure. My idea of cake nirvana, and somehow perfectly right for the first Sunday of the year.

Citrus Drizzle Cake

makes 1 loaf

10-15 minutes to make; 40-45 minutes to cook

3 eggs, separated

180g unsalted butter

180g caster sugar

160g self raising flour

60g ground almond

2 limes, zest & juice

1 lemon, zest & juice

1 orange, zest & juice

2 tbsp milk

For the syrup:

approx. 150ml citrus juice (this is what my fruit above yielded)

100g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 200/180 fan/ gas 6. Grease and line a loaf tin with baking parchment, leaving a 'tail' at either end to help you lift the cake out.

Either in a food mixer with a whisk attachment, or a generous bowl and an electric whisk, whisk up the egg whites until stiff. Be sure that both the bowl and whisk are super-clean before you start as any hint of grease will mean the whites will not gain enough air to fluff up. Once the eggs are whisked, set aside.

In a separate bowl, add the egg yolks, butter and sugar and beat together until light and fluffy. I used the beater attachment of my Kenwood Chef as I tend to a be a lazy cakemaker, but a wooden spoon and copious elbow grease would do the job well if you preferred. Beat in the flour, almond and all of the citrus zest, and finally beat in the milk.

Take a generous spoon of the whisked egg white and beat this into the cake mixture - this will serve to loosen the mix a little. Then fold the remaining egg whites in gently but firmly. I find a figure of eight action with a large metal spoon to be the best way of doing this, but you will find the way that works best for you. Be careful not to over mix as you will loose the precious air you spent time whisking in.

Pour into the prepared cake tin, level slightly with the back of a spoon and cook in the oven until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. In my oven this took 45 minutes, but check after 35 or so just in case - ovens are notoriously difficult things to judge when giving baking times, yours may vary from mine in all manner of ways.

Whilst the cake is cooking prepare the 'drizzle' by boiling the reserved citrus juice and the sugar in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat when the sugar has dissolved and you are left with a glossy syrup that tastes quite sharp. If you want it sweeter feel free to add a little more sugar, but for me the drizzle should have a zing that tingles on the tongue and serves to wake the cake up, lifting it from the plain to the sublime.

Once the cake is done remove it from the oven and slowly pour the drizzle over the still hot cake. Do this spoonful by spoonful and watch it satisfyingly soak into the sponge. Don't rush or it will puddle and run over the sides of the tin, which would seem such a shameful waste of the delicious nectar. Allow to cool in the tin before lifting out onto a plate.

Fabulous served with coffee for a late sunday breakfast.