Lemon tart

In Olive magazine issue: October 2008, there is a new section name “Challenge Gordon”. It’s quite interesting because “How can anyone win this challenge?” You know Gordon Ramsay is an icon; he is the great chef (and a chef from hell, haha). Actually I think the people who sent the recipe to challenge him are brave, and they are great too, because they think they can win. The rule for the challenge is someone will make these two recipes at home and invite the tasters. The tasters will eat the dish without knowing whose recipe is and they have to write the reason why they like it or not.

This time Gordon Ramsay is the winner, from the caramelized top and the idea of having a thin layer of the chocolate in the tart. But the point is not far from the challenger he got 12 points and Hannah Summers (the challenger) got 11 points (it’s very close ^ ^).

After I read the recipe from this issue, I decided to make the tart from Gordon Ramsay, not that I’m so sure about his recipe (and the truth is I don’t own any of his cookbooks), but it’s very easy to make. I like the idea of the caramelized top too, it remind me of the crème blûlée, and the filling looked alike the lemon crème blûlée. This lemon tart is great even it’s not the one with the pure taste of lemon (chocolate makes the taste different), but I love it anyway.

Note: I got a little problem when preparing the tart; I couldn’t put all the filling into the tart. There were about 80 ml left, so I made a small tart with this filling. My tart pan is 2 cm high, so be prepared for that too.

Adaptation from: Olive magazine issue: October 2008, “Challenge Gordon”.

Gordon Ramsay’s lemon tart

Serves 8

FILLING
50 g	dark chocolate, melted
2	Whole eggs
4	Egg yolks
160 g	caster sugar
200 ml	double cream
	Juice of 2 lemons (about 120ml)
	Icing sugar to dust
SWEET PASTRY
125 g	unsalted butter
90 g	caster sugar
1	egg
250 g	plain flour

To make the pastry put the butter and sugar in a food processor and whizz until just combined. Add the egg and whizz for 30 seconds. Add the flour and process for a few seconds until the dough just comes together (add 1 tbsp cold water if the dough seems too dry).

Knead lightly on a surface dusted with flour then shape into a flat disc and chill for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5. Roll the pastry out and use it to line a 20cm loose-based tart in or tart ring. Leave the excess pastry hanging over the edge. Rest for 20 minutes in the fridge. Line the pastry with foil or baking parchment and baking beans.

Bake blind for 15 minutes, until the sides just begin to colour. Remove the beans and foil and bake for another 5 minutes or until the base is cooked and lightly golden.

Brush the base with the melted chocolate and cool. Lower oven to110°C/fan 90°C/gas ½ .

Whisk the eggs, yolks and sugar together in a bowl and stir in the cream. Finally, add the lemon juice - this will thicken the cream.

Strain the filling through a fine sieve into a jug. Pour half of the filling into the pastry case and put the pastry case onto the bottom oven shelf, pull the shelf half out and, keeping the tin level, pour in the remaining filling. Carefully push the shelf back and bake for 50-60 minutes until the filling is almost set It should have a slight wobble in the centre.

Trim the pastry level with the top of the tin and leave it to cool completely.

Dust with icing sugar and run a cook’s blowtorch over the surface to give a blûlée effect.

Winning recipe: Gordon Ramsay’s lemon tart

Ham and Cheese Muffin: I’m sure you can’t say no.

I know there are a lot of ham and cheese recipes in my blog, but what can I do. Whenever they come together, I can’t resist. This time the recipe comes from: ............... which I bought it 2 months ago (and just had a chance to try the recipe now). The book comes from the famous shop name  ........., and the recipes in this book are muffin. Anyway I had to make this recipe 2 times, not because there was a problem from the recipe but the problem comes from the size of the pan.

The first time, I used the standard muffin pan, the muffin wasn’t puff up over the pan and its look was unattractive. Then I see the note in the book, the pan in the book is 3 x 4.2 x 5.5 cm (high x bottom x upper) (-special size, that you can buy from ...............). So if you want to use the standard muffin pan but want the look of the muffin to be better you may have to fill the pan to almost full (the recipe will yield 5 muffins and the baking time will a little bit longer). I’m lucky enough to have small pudding pans which are about 3.5x5x6 cm in their size, so my muffins are not too flat and I still have 6 pieces (^ _^). I’m still want to buy the special size pan (even I have too many of them now, haha), but my friends told me that it’s out of stock, but if you see their muffins I think you will really want to have it too.

The muffins are great and easy to make, and yes like any muffins, it’s great when it’s warm out of the oven (and the cheese still melt, yummy).

Ham and Cheese Muffin

Makes 6 (3.5x5x6 cm pan)

150 g	Cake flour
6 g	Baking powder
1	Egg (medium size)
30 g	Sugar
50 g	Unsalted butter (melted)
70 g	Milk
1 g	Salt
3 slices	Ham (cut into small pieces)
50 g	Cheddar cheese (cut into small dice)
	Parsley (chopped)

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Place the cupcake liners into the pans.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together, set aside.

Put the egg and sugar in a bowl and place the bowl over the pan of hot water.

With hand mixer beat the egg mixture until very light and fluffy.

Gently pour the milk into the egg mixture using spatula fold to combine, then add the melted butter and fold again.

Pour all the rest ingredients (flour mixture, ham, cheese and parsley), fold just until they incorporate (do not overmix).

Pour the batter into the pan.

Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Ham and Cheese Muffin: I’m sure you can’t say no.

Thick and Chewy Double - Chocolate Cookies: for your request!

Chocolate and a lot of chocolate, how can anyone resist? Some of my read sent me e-mails, they said that they couldn’t find the chocolate cookie recipe in my blog (not include the chocolate chip which I already have it), and I had to admit that it’s truth, haha. So, I had my mission to find the chocolate cookies recipe from that day. I read and read a lot of recipes. Finally I got one that anyone who love chocolate will love it too. My recipe is an adaptation from ....................hich the original recipe is quite flat. My chocolate cookies are real thick but the texture is soft and chewy (and not too sweet, too). The flavor of the cookie is complex from 3 importance ingredient, semisweet chocolate, cocoa powder, and coffee. I suggest using the best semisweet that you can find (I use Lindt, it’s have a good chocolate flavor without too much acid taste). These cookies will be great with either strong coffee or a glass of milk, and yes I like it both ways.

Thick and Chewy Double- Chocolate Cookies

MAKES ABOUT 32

160 g	unbleached all-purpose flour
20 g	Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tsp	baking powder
½ tsp	salt
200 g	semisweet chocolate, chopped
2	large eggs
1 tsp	vanilla extract
1 tsp	instant coffee or espresso powder
140 g	unsalted butter, softened but still cool
150 g	light brown sugar
40 g	granulated sugar

1. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

2. Melt the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost-simmering water, stirring once or twice, until smooth; remove from the heat. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla lightly with a fork, sprinkle the coffee powder over to dissolve, and set aside.

3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 seconds. Beat in the sugars until combined, about 45 seconds; the mixture will look granular. Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds.

Add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined, about 40 seconds. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer at low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overbeat. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature (if the weather is warm, refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes) until the consistency is scoop- able and fudge-like, about 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets with a 1½ -inch ice cream scoop, spacing the mounds of dough about 1½ inches apart.

5. Bake until the edges of the cookies have just begun to set but the centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets about 10 minutes, slide the parchment with cookies onto wire racks, and cool to room temperature. Cover one cooled baking sheet with a new piece of parchment paper. Scoop the remaining dough onto the parchment - lined sheet, bake, and cool as directed. Remove cooled cookies from the parchment with a wide metal spatula.

Thick and Chewy Double- Chocolate Cookies