Easy Lemon Curd

 

This is a really easy recipe to make delicious lemon curd in a hurry! It's hard to believe, I know, but it's all done in the microwave and it takes less than 5 mins; YES! This recipe makes 3 of these jars in the photo, so around 500mls or so (I am sorry, I didn't actually measure the final product!)

Easy Lemon Curd

Ingredients:

• 175 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 225 g caster sugar
• 115 g very soft butter (or dairy free alternative - I used Flora block - unsalted)
• 2 large eggs

Method:

1. Mix the lemon juice and caster sugar together in a large microwave-safe bowl or jug. 
2. Stir in the butter.
3. Whisk the eggs very well in a separate bowl until well combined. Pass this through a sieve into the bowl of lemon juice mixture. Discard any stringy bits and wash and dry the sieve as you will need it again later.
4. Stir well and then cook in the microwave on high for 60 seconds. Take out and whisk it well; it may not look any different at this point, but whisk well anyway. 
5. Return to the microwave and cook for three more lots of 60 seconds on high, whisking well after each 60 seconds. You will see it thickening after each zap in the microwave.
6. After 4 mins it should be thick and starting to look set. If you think it needs slightly longer, zap for another 30 seconds. If you want to be cautious, you can slow down the final 60 seconds by splitting it into 30 second increments instead to control the thickening a little more.
7. Pass the curd through the clean and dry sieve to remove any small pieces of cooked egg, although it's rare to get any with this method. Spoon it into warm, sterilized jars, and once cooled to room temperature, store in the fridge.
8. It should last up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

NOTE: there are a number of ways to sterilize jars:

1. Wash in the dishwasher and use straight after the wash while they are still hot.

2. Wash the jars in warm soapy water, then rinse and place the jars into the oven on 150 degrees C for 15 mins. I put the rubber seals into boiling water for the same length of time. Place curd in soon after sterilizing.

Passionfruit Cordial

I'm obsessed with passionfruit. They are my absolute favourite fruit and this week they were on sale at Aldi. I'll admit I went a little bit crazy. I bought 18....to start with. Then I was in there again and bought another 18.....then another. And now....I have stopped.

So I put a call out to my followers on Facebook to get some suggestions of what I could do with them all. Typically it was the Aussies who came back with all the ideas (passionfruit is almost a national institution in Australia - we all love them). My cousin Gail, suggested this recipe and sent it through to me. It is soooo good, really refreshing! I'm also going to make passionfruit curd, which I've made before and love so much, some pineapple and passionfruit no-churn ice cream and then if there are any left I might simply eat them! (I had 4 for breakfast yesterday!)

 This drink is so refreshing, best served over ice and topped up with sparkling water, and you can garnish with mint and a slice of orange.

Passionfruit Cordial

Makes 1.25L 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (500 ml) water 
• 2 cups sugar (400g)
• 2 cups (500 ml) unsweetened pineapple juice
• 1 cup (250 ml) lemon juice (this took me 8 small lemons)
• 1 cup (250 ml) passionfruit pulp (approximately 12 passionfruit- perfect if on sale!)

Optional:

• 2 teaspoons citric acid
• 1 teaspoon tartaric acid

I couldn't find either of these, so left them out. They simply make the drink last longer, but to be honest I doubt it will last long anyway as it's so delicious!

Method:

1. Combine water, sugar and acids (if using) in a saucepan, bring to boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, leave to simmer for 5 mins. Cool.
2. Add pineapple juice, passionfruit pulp, lemon juice, stir lightly.
3. Pour into sterilized bottles and refrigerate.
4. Pour a generous amount into tall chilled glasses filled with ice cubes, add sparkling water and garnish with mint and orange slices (or if like me, stick a straw in and guzzle!!)

Enjoy!

Lemon Blueberry Drizzle Cake

This combination is a delicious summery one, perfect for an afternoon tea cake to share with friends.  I wanted to make something special for my friend Sarah, as a birthday cake and a farewell as she and her wife and son are moving to China very soon.
And for a picnic in the park, this light, syrupy and fruity cake was the perfect combination. It's bursting with lemon flavour and those little blueberries just add so much juiciness to the cake.

I doubled the recipe as I wanted to make a large bundt cake, and it would have all fit in my more normal shaped round ones, but for my lovely heart shaped tin, I had some mixture left over. There was enough to make 4 mini bundts from my new Nordic Ware tin I bought in New York recently. I just love the mini bundts, they are a perfect single person portion. 

These little bundles of deliciousness were for my family and were wolfed down by all three of us. 

So, just bare in mind if you follow this recipe, you will make one big cake, or a slightly smaller one with extras. If you'd like to make loaf cakes, you'll get two out of this recipe.

Lemon Blueberry Drizzle Cake

Serves 12-15

For the cake

250g unsalted butter - softened

350g caster sugar

4 large eggs

zest of 2 lemons

350g self raising flour

7-8 tablespoons milk

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

For the syrup

juice of 1 lemon

3/4 c blueberries

3 tablespoons icing sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line your cake tin. If using a bundt tin, you can either brush melted butter all through the inside, or I use a cake release spray which works wonders.
2. Cream together the softened butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and lemon zest, one at a time, mixing well after each egg. 
3. Add the flour and fold it in gently but thoroughly. Add the milk and mix. Spoon half the mixture into the tin, sprinkle the blueberries across the batter and then dollop the rest of the mixture over the top, spreading it out evenly. Place the cake in the oven and then while it is cooking, combine the lemon juice, blueberries and icing sugar in a small saucepan over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the blueberries burst and the syrup thickens slightly.
4. Cook the cake for 40 mins ** or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool for about 15 mins in the tin and then turn out onto a cooling rack.
5. Using a skewer, poke holes over the cake and drizzle the syrup so it soaks into the holes and drips down the sides. Dollop the blueberries around the top too.
6. Allow to cool fully and then dig in!

** timings will alter according to the cake tin you use - be flexible. The mini bundts I used only took 18 mins.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

I had a craving for these muffins this week, so I stocked up on blueberries - they're out of season but like so much fruit here in the UK, still readily available. These blueberries are fresh, but you could just as easily use frozen ones - go with what you have/can get.

It's a lovely classic flavour combination, lemon and blueberries. This recipe makes muffins that aren't sickly sweet at all, so being generous with the lemon sugar glaze on top is recommended.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12

Ingredients:

• 2 c plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2/3 c caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 120g butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 1/3 c milk
• 1.5 cups blueberries
• 1 Tbs lemon zest

For the glaze:

• 1/2 c icing sugar (powdered sugar)
• juice from a lemon - enough to water down the sugar to make a semi-thick glaze for drizzling

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C (350 deg F) and line a muffin tin with 12 wrappers.
2. In a small bowl mix the flour and baking powder.
3. Using an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and mix until light and fluffy - approximately 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one. If the mixture looks like it is curdling, you can add a spoon of the flour mixture to help prevent this. Add the vanilla, followed by the milk and lemon; mix until combined.
5. Add the flour to the bowl, and with a wooden spoon, gently mix until just combined. Do not over mix here or the muffins will be dense.
6. Carefully fold in the lemon zest and blueberries.
7. Scoop the mixture into the muffin tin, filling each one 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the muffins are lightly golden on top and a skewer comes out clean.
8. Once the muffins have cooled slightly, drizzle the glaze over the top as desired and then tuck in!

Passionfruit 'Cheesecake' - without the cheese!

Let me start by saying this is absolutely delicious! Truly. It is made up of some of my favourite flavours, lemon and passionfruit. And to top it off, there's no cooking involved!!

This dish is one I have always loved and the recipe came to me again this week via facebook. I don't think it is 'owned' by anyone, but it's a popular Australian dessert. Passionfruit itself is one of the most popular flavours in Australia, so much so that you can even buy it tinned. That is what I used for this as passionfruit are not in season right now here in the UK. I have a dwindling stash of the tins, and I use them sparingly. Well worth it for this though!

So I had to play around with this a little as the recipe I originally had was a little ambiguous about the gelatine, but with some brilliant advise from the Aussie mum of a friend (thanks Sandra!!), it turned out perfectly this time. You just won't believe how easy it was!!

By the way, the original recipe was a tray bake, with the base made of plain biscuits laid out covering the bottom of the pan. In Aus, use scotch fingers, in the UK I used malted milk biscuits. Any plain biscuit can be used. This time, however, I wanted to make it like a cheesecake to serve at a friend's house, so I crushed the biscuits and mixed with melted butter to make a more traditional base that would go into a round tin.

The second time round I made it smaller - normal sized, and had a bit of spare everythign to make these little glasses of pudding - 4 of them.

Anyway here is the recipe.....

Passionfruit Slice/'Cheesecake'

Serves 12-16

Ingredients:

1 x 250g packet of plain biscuits

1 x 395g can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 c (125ml) lemon juice

2 teaspoons gelatine dissolved in 2-3 tablespoons of  boiling water

300ml double cream

2-3 fresh passionfruit (they are best eaten when the outside is wrinkled) or 1/2 tin of passionfruit pulp

100g melted butter (if you are making the traditional crushed biscuit base)

Method:

1. Line a baking tray or springform pan with baking paper. If using a square/rectangular tray, lay the biscuits out to cover the bottom of the tray.

2. If using the round springform pan, blitz the biscuits in a food processor until finely crumbed. Add melted butter and mix to a wet sand consistency. Press firmly into the base of the pan and smooth over to make it even. Place in the fridge for 30 mins.

3. Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatine over the boiled water and mix until dissolved. If it is looking thick, add a little more water.

4. Whip the cream until very soft peaks form. Add in the rest of the ingredients (lemon, condensed milk, gelatine) and whip a few more times to combine. Mix gently, you need to make sure it is well combined but not too thick.

5. Spread the mixture over the base and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Spoon the passionfruit pulp on top and refrigerate until set, preferably over night.

Note: I doubled the ingredients to make the cake/slice in these pictures. It's tastes just as good with the quantities, but not as high.

Trust me, this is soooooo good!