Lemon Tart | Nakano Thrift Shop

'Hitomi, you must like pie.' '
Excuse me?'
’See here- cherry pie, lemon pie, millefeuille, and apple pie.’
Like a bird singing, Masayo cheerily recited the different pastries I had brought from Posy.
Nakano Thrift Shop
Hiromi Kawakami

My motivation is slowly coming back to me and that means the urge to read and bake is also returning. I haven’t read a book entirely for a good three months, I’ve had zero motivation and energy - turns out lockdown number 6 hits the hardest.

A friend from work dropped off an utter abundance of lemons from her mother’s backyard though, and trawling through previously dogmarked pages of books on my shelves made he glance to Nakano Thrift Shop - a delightful and surprisingly moving read. Obviously the mention of a lemon pie jumped out at me as i had a ridiculous amount of lemons to use up.

This tart is creamy with a perfect balance of sweet and sour. it’s perfect for the warming days of spring and so easy to make.

Lemon Tart
Ingredients
Tart case
420g plain flour
40g raw caster sugar
180g cold butter
150ml cold milk
Filling
200ml of lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
350ml coconut cream
2 tbsp corn flour
1/2 tsp agar agar
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g raw caster sugar
1/2 tsp tumeric powder

1. Combine the flour, sugar and butter together in a bowl. Using your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles wet sand.

2. Make a well in the middle and pour in the milk, mixing until it comes together with no lumps. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before use.

3. Once your tart pastry is ready, prepare a loose bottom tart pan by greasing the sides and bottom well. Preheat the oven to 160C.

4. Roll out the pastry until it is about 2 cms thick and then gently press it into the prepared case, let it hang over the edge and trim it until it is neat.

5. Line the tart case with baking paper and use dried beans, rice or baking beans to weigh it down before blind baking for 15 minutes with the pastry weighed down. And then another 10 without it. Remove and put to the side to cool.

6. To prepare the filling, in a medium saucepan combine the sugar, lemon juice, agar agar, corn flour and vanilla. Mix well.

7. Heat on a medium heat until it begins to thicken, making sure to continually stir to stop it sticking to the bottom. Now is a good time to stir in the turmeric powder, to give it a nice yellow colour.

8. Once the filling has thickened - if you draw a spoon across the top the drag marks should remain, you can remove from the heat. Pout into the prepared tart case and leave to cool for 3 hrs to overnight. Top with fruit or whatever you like and enjoy!
   
   

Raspberry Meringue Tart | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

‘The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts,
All on a summer day:
The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts,
And took them quite away!"
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Caroll

When I first moved to Melbourne at the age of 19, I began working at a tiny cafe near my house. Looking back - getting paid $14 an hour and working ridiculous shifts, really wasn't worth it or really that legal unfortunately. However, it did mean that I met a very good friend of mine, Laura. Her and her partner were regulars at the cafe, coming in almost every weekend. When I stopped working there, it was quite sudden and I did not have the opportunity to really say good to anyone - only a few months later though, at a showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2 I spotted Laura, perched outside with a wand ready. We exchanged contact details - and since then, her and her partner have moved to Brisbane, but we've also travelled together and put effort in to make sure that we see most Marvel movies together.

She is also a absolutely huge Alice in Wonderland fan, and this year I planned an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party for her when she was down visiting. A weekend of op-shopping and cooking ensured that I put together a tea party that would make the Mad Hatter proud and leave all guests tumbling down the rabbit hole.Despite theming the whole tea party around Alice in Wonderland, I sort of missed out on making what I really wanted to, the Queen of Hearts' tart. So, obviously the solution was to wait till a rainy night months later to attempt to make it.

You will need a 25cm tart case and ideally a candy thermometer and a standmixer/electric beater but can be done without. You can use this method if you don’t have a candy thermometer https://www.thespruceeats.com/making-candy-without-a-candy-thermometer-520309.

*Note: if using fresh raspberries, up the ¼ cup of milk to ¾ a cup.

Raspberry Meringue Tart
Makes one large tart (25cm across)
Tart Pastry
550g plain flour
50g caster sugar
220g butter
185ml milk
Raspberry Filling
1 cup caster sugar
½ cup corn flour
1 tsp agar agar powder
1 lemon, zested and juiced
200g raspberries, fresh or frozen
¼ cup milk *see note
½ tsp vanilla extract
Meringue
½ cup chickpea liquid (the juice from a can of chickpeas!)
½ tsp cream of tartar60ml water
1 1/2 cup caster sugar
1 tsp agar agar powder 

Tart Pastry

1. Combine the sugar and flour in a large mixing bowl, adding in pieces of the butter and using your fingers to mix them. The result should resemble wet sand.

2. Make a well in the middle and pour in the milk, mixing until the pastry comes together into a ball.

3. Wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before use.

4. Preheat oven to 160C.

5. When the dough has had time to rest, prepare a 25cm tart case with cooking spray or butter.

6. Lightly dust a surface with flour and roll out the pastry dough until it approx. 5mm thick – ensure that the pastry has been rolled out to a sixe wider than the tart case and gently place the pastry into the prepared case, pressing the pastry into the corners. Trim any overhanging edges.

7. Line the pastry with baking paper, using baking beads or even rice/dried beans to weight it down. Blind bake for 20 minutes and leave to cool.

Raspberry Filling

1. Place all ingredients into a medium sized saucepan on a medium heat. Ensure that all ingredients have been well mixed together – mashing the raspberries when necessary.

2. Continue to heat on medium, stirring occasionally until the mixture resembles that of a pudding consistency.

3. Remove from heat and strain the mix through a fine mesh sieve or some cheesecloth – essentially you’re just trying to get all the seeds from the raspberries out. If you prefer you can totally leave them in.

4. Pour the raspberry filling into the prepared pastry and refrigerate overnight or at least for three hours (it will take a little while to set properly).

Meringue

1. Combine the chickpea liquid and the cream of tartar together and beat until stiff peaks form. It will take a few minutes – probably longer if you’re doing this by hand, though it is an amazing workout.

2. Combine the agar agar, water and sugar together in a small saucepan – heating until it reaches around 112C.

3. While beating the meringue, slowly pour in the hot sugar mixture, continuing to beat for the next 8 minutes or so – until the meringue has cooled.

4. When the meringue is ready, you can either use a piping bag or just a spoon to pop the meringue on top of the prepared raspberry tart – as much as you like.

5. A blowtorch is best – but if you don’t have one, like me, you can pop the tart into a low heat oven for a little or even use a few matches (I did this – didn’t work that great).

6. Leave for about 30 minutes to let the meringue set a little before cutting into the tart. Enjoy!