Lemon, Almond & Gin Tart

As promised.  Easy if somewhat time consuming so I make the pastry one night, then filling & baking the next, so it's ready the day before you want it.  I've set the recipe up for this.  This gives you time to trickle the gin syrup in and let it soak.  Use any left over juice/zest in another part of the recipe.  I found this in a magazine years ago at a mate's house - sorry I have no idea who owns the copyright!

Heaven's own pud.

Paula

Pastry

• 175g plain flour
• pinch salt
• 40g icing sugar
• 75g unsalted butter, chilled
• 1/2 lemon, finely zested & squeezed
• 1 medium free range egg yolk

23cm loose bottomed flan tin, well greased.

Filling

• 100g unsalted butter softened
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 medium free range eggs, beaten
• 150g ground almonds
• 1+1/2 lemons, finely zested & squeezed (plus leftover juice from pastry)
• 4tbsp good quality lemon curd either the Duchy organic stuff or something from a local producer - you know wickedly lemony!

Syrup

• 50g sugar
• 125ml water
• 3 juniper berries, lightly crushed
• zest of 1 lemon in fine shreds

Serves 6 - 8.

Pastry

Put flour, salt, icing sugar, butter & 1 teaspoon lemon zest in a food processor (with double blade thing) and blend till it resembles breadcrumbs.  Add egg yolk & 2 tbsp lemon juice (usually 1/2 a lemon) and blend till it magically becomes a dough.

Mould into a ball, wrap in cling film and place in fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 190C/375F/Gas5.

Roll out dough to line the prepped tin.  Prick with a fork and line the pastry with a circle of baking parchment.  Fill with a layer of baking beans and bake blind for 10 mins. Remove beans and paper, reduce heat to 180C/350F/Gas4 and bake for a further 5-10 mins until the pastry is just starting to change colour to a vv pale biscuit.  Remove, leave in tin to cool or to do next stage.

Filling

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and creamy.  Beat in eggs and almonds, a little at a time until completely mixed.  Beat in lemon zest and juice.

Spread curd over the pastry base and put almond mix on top (I try to seal in the curd by getting the almond mix to meet the pastry edges). Bake for 20 - 30 mins until just firm in the centre and a little colour has appeared on the almond filling.  Remove from oven and let cool in tin.

Syrup

Put sugar and water in a small heavy based pan and dissolve sugar over a gentle heat.  Add juniper berries and bubble for 2 - 3 mins. Remove from heat.  Put lemon zest in a pan of boiling water for 5 mins to blanch.  Drain, rinse & drain again.  Add to syrup.  Put back on heat and cook for 5-10 mins at a steady simmer until zest is tender. Remove berries and zest from syrup.  Scatter zest over tart.  Bin berries.

Continue cooking syrup for a couple of mins until it thickens slightly.  Add gin.  Bubble for few seconds.  Remove from heat & let cool.  Gradually drizzle over tart every so often over next day.

NB Keep in tin until just before serving, if you leave it in the tin while you are faffing and syruping it will protect the very fragile pastry edges.