Classic lemon tart; Vegan lemon cake; Almond & lemon biscottini

These simple but sophisticated desserts offset the tartness of the fruit to showcase its flavour.

Lemon tart. Picture: Guy Bailey.

If you have a lemon tree at home, so much the better. These simple but sophisticated desserts offset the tartness of the fruit to showcase its flavour.

Classic lemon tart

250g plain flour

75g icing sugar, sifted, plus extra for dusting

120g chilled unsalted butter, diced

3 egg yolks

2 tablespoons water

For the filling

5 medium-sized organic eggs

150g caster sugar

120ml (½ cup) lemon juice

2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest

150ml double cream

For the pastry, put flour, sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor and pulse briefly. Add butter; pulse until combined. With the motor running, add yolks and water and mix until it just comes together into a dough. Remove and shape into a disc, but don’t knead or work it; handle the pastry as little as possible. Cover in plastic wrap and chill for an hour, until pliable but not sticky to the touch. Preheat oven to 190C. Roll out pastry until about 4-5mm thick, and put into a greased 24cm fluted tart tin; trim, leaving about 1cm of pastry above the rim. Refrigerate until cold. Line pastry case with greaseproof paper and baking beans or uncooked rice and bake for about 15 minutes, until golden. Remove beans and paper, brush base with egg white and put back in oven for another 8 minutes. Trim pastry to rim. For the filling, put all ingredients into large bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside to settle for an hour or so in the fridge. Preheat oven again to 140C. Pour mixture into pastry case, place on a baking tray and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until just set. Remove from oven and leave to cool for at least 1 hour, then chill until needed. Dust with icing sugar to serve. Serves 8

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Vegan lemon cake. Picture: Guy Bailey.

Vegan lemon cake

225g self-raising flour

50g ground almonds

200g caster sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

Grated zest 2 lemons

100ml vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing

2 tablespoons lemon juice

For the icing

150g icing sugar

½ lemon, juiced

Preheat oven to 170C (fan). Grease a medium-sized loaf tin with oil and line with baking paper. Mix flour, almonds, sugar, baking powder and lemon zest in a bowl. Add oil, lemon juice and 170ml cold water, then mix until combined (don’t overmix). Pour mixture into tin. Bake for 30-40 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes; turn out and transfer cake to a wire rack to cool fully. For the icing, sieve icing sugar into a bowl. Mix in enough lemon juice to make an icing that’s just thin enough to pour over the cake. Serves 8

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Almond & lemon biscottini. Picture: Guy Bailey.

Almond & lemon biscottini

2 egg whites

180g caster sugar

250g ground almonds

1 tablespoon runny honey

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

½ cup icing sugar, sifted

For the Icing

1 cup icing sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Whisk egg whites with an electric beater until frothy, then add sugar and whisk for 2-3 minutes until thick. Add ground almonds, honey and zest and beat until combined. Place icing sugar into a bowl; spoon a walnut-size piece of dough into it. Shape into a ball, tossing to coat with sugar; transfer to a lined baking tray. Repeat with remaining dough and leave to sit for 15 minutes. Bake in preheated 200C (180C fan) oven for 15-20 minutes until golden and cracked. Allow to cool. Mix together icing ingredients; drizzle over biscuits. Makes about 20