Etsy List: Citrus

Citrus conjures up strong feelings; it ambushes all the senses. The scent is fresh and reviving. The taste zings on the tongue and the palate. The greens, yellows and ahem… oranges are eye-catching, vibrant and bright. Citrus is invigorating, uplifting, mood-enhancing and health-giving.

Citrus
Curated by H is for Home

Cakes & Bakes: Lemon curd

For someone who claims to hate lemons, I sure cook a lot of lemon-based Cakes & Bakes recipes!

This week, I needed one lemon for something or other but saw one of those string bags of lemons in the supermarket for a whole 25p – cheaper than buying it singly.

I ended up with half a dozen lemons in the fruit bowl that needed using up. More drizzle cake? Cookies? Sorbet? Meringue?

I’ll let you in on a secret. Even though I generally can’t bear the taste or smell of lemon, I LOVE lemon curd – I don’t know why! Lemon curd on hot, buttered toast is divine – and it’s a doddle to make.

I found a really simple recipe in my favourite celebrity chef, Delia Smith’s Cookery Course Part Two. I scaled up her recipe which made enough to fill two 400ml Mason jars. As well as being good on breakfast toast, you can use it in a sponge sandwich like I did here, lemon curd tarts or lemon roulade.

Don’t worry if your mixture looks like it’s curdling when it begins to cook. Once the temperature is low, you keep stirring and the butter begins to melt – it will all be fine!

Lemon curd

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1

Course Condiment

Cuisine British

Servings 2 x 400ml Mason jars

Ingredients

300 g/10½oz caster sugar
4 large lemons finely grated zest and juice
8 large eggs
200 g/7oz butter

Instructions

Put the grated lemon zest and sugar into a large bowl
In a large measuring jug, whisk the lemon juice together with the eggs
Pour the lemon juice & egg mixture over the zest & sugar mixture
Add the butter cut into small cubes and put the bowl over a pan of just simmering water
Stir frequently until thickened - about 30 minutes
Decant into sterilised jars before screwing the lids down tightly

Keyword curd, lemon, lemon curd

Cakes & Bakes: Lemon refrigerator cookies

We needed a lemon last week for a gnocci dish. We didn’t have any in the house so I popped over to the supermarket quickly to get one. All they had were those string bags containing 4 lemons – they’d run out of the loose ones.

A week later, our fruit bowl still contained 3 lemons – just sitting there – what to do with them? I had a flick through some lemon recipes and saw one for lemon refrigerator cookies. The great thing about refrigerator cookies is that you can bake off just what you need. Say goodbye to stale teatime snacks!

If you fancy them again a few days later, just cut some more slices from the roll – fresh, warm cookies in 15 minutes flat!

Have a look at some of our other cookie recipes here!

Lemon refrigerator cookies

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Ingredients

450 g/1lb plain flour plus extra for dusting
2 tsp baking powder
225 g/8oz butter cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
350 g/12oz caster sugar
2 large eggs lightly beaten
finely grated rind of 2 lemons

Instructions

Sift the flour & baking powder into a large bowl
Add the butter and rub it with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs
Stir the sugar and lemon zest into the mixture, add the eggs and combine to form a soft dough
Turn the mixture out on to a lightly floured work surface and divide the dough in half
Shape each piece of dough into a log shape about 3cm/1¼inches in diameter
Wrap each log in baking paper and then in foil and chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or until required (I put one of the logs in the freezer to use at a later date)
Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 5
Grease a large baking sheet (or a few if you're making a big batch)
Slice the dough into as many 8mm/⅜-inch slices as required
Place the slices on the baking sheet, spaced well apart
Return any remaining dough to the fridge for up to a week
Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown
Leave on the baking sheet to cool slightly for 2-3 minutes before transferring to cool completely

Cakes & Bakes: Lemon marmalade bars

It was Justin’s birthday last week, and each year I take a birthday cake request from him. It’s usually something I don’t make often, if ever, because it’s something I don’t much like myself. There aren’t that many sweet things that I don’t like. But most things containing lemon or orange make it onto that list. Funnily enough, I don’t mind food made with lime or grapefruit!

Last year, I pulled out and kept a page from a copy of Stella Magazine containing a recipe I knew he’d like. It was for lemon marmalade bars by Sarah Leahey Benjamin. I promptly filed it away and forgot about it. On his birthday I asked, “So what cake do you want for your birthday?” He replied, “Lemon drizzle cake.” I think I made that last year (and more than likely the previous year too!), but it was his birthday, so who was I to say no? I flipped through my recipe folder and my eyes fell upon the pretty picture of the lemon marmalade bars. “What about these?”, I asked. “Yeah, OK.” he replied, a little indifferently.

It was delicious – even I had a piece or two. We took some with us for Granny Glittens to try when we went for a visit and she enjoyed it too. Success!

Lemon marmalade bars

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Prep Time 25

Cook Time 25

Total Time 50

Course Dessert

Servings 16 small slices

Ingredients

For the filling

2 lemons unwaxed
200 g/7oz caster sugar
3 eggs
4 tsp cornflour
¼ tsp salt
45 g/1½oz unsalted butter melted and cooled

For the base

140 g/5oz plain flour
50 g/1¾oz caster sugar
¼ tsp salt
125 g/4½oz unsalted butter melted & cooled
½ tsp vanilla essence
icing sugar for sifting

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4
Line a 20cm/8in square tin with tin foil, making sure the foil goes up & over the sides
Slice one of lemons into 8 wedges lengthwise then slice each eighth into small pieces, making sure to remove the seeds
In a small bowl, mix the slices with the sugar, rubbing the sugar into the lemon with your fingers to help extract the lemon oil
Set aside for about an hour at room temperature
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the flour with the caster sugar, ¼tsp salt, melted butter and vanilla essence
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth down with the back of a spoon, making sure it goes right into the corners
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown
While the base is cooking, finish preparing the filling
Juice the remaining lemon, measure out 3 tbsp of juice and set aside
Using a food processor, blitz the macerated lemon & sugar mixture until smooth
Add the lemon juice, eggs, cornflour, ¼ tsp salt and melted butter
Purée again until the mixture is smooth
Once the base is cooked, remove the tin from the oven and reduce the temperature to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2
Carefully pour the lemon filling over the cooked crust and return the tin to the oven
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the mixture is just set
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan
Dust with icing sugar prior to serving
Using the edges of the tin foil, lift the cake out of the tin and cut into squares, rectangles or diamond shapes