Lemon-verbena tartlets

Makes 4

For the pastry

— 150g unsalted butter,

softened

— 90g icing sugar

— 30g ground almonds

— 1 egg

— 250g strong bread flour — 2 egg yolks mixed with 1 tbsp whipping cream to make an egg wash

For the filling — 2 large eggs, plus one

egg yolk

— 95g caster sugar — juice of 4 large lemons,

and zest of 1

— 75ml double cream — pinch of lemon-verbena

leaves — 1 lemongrass stick, bruised and sliced (optional)

For the yogurt cream

— 150g Greek yogurt, left to hang in a clean J-cloth overnight to dry out — 250g mascarpone

— 40g icing sugar, sifted

To serve — good-quality extra-virgin

olive oil

— edible flowers (optional)

Using an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter, icing sugar and ground almonds with a pinch of fine salt until combined.

Add the egg and mix again to combine. Add the flour and mix slowly until the dough comes together.

Shape the dough into a disc about 4cm thick and wrap in cling film. Leave it in the fridge to rest for at least 12 hours before using.

Take the dough out of the fridge 10 minutes before you start rolling it and remove the cling film. Roll it out to 1½mm thick then chill on a baking sheet for an hour. Remove from the fridge and cut into circles 12cm in diameter.

Use these to line four individual tart tins, each with a diameter of 10cm, pressing the pastry into the corners, and leave the lined tins to rest in the fridge for another hour.

Preheat the oven to 160C/ gas mark 3.

Transfer the tart tins to a baking tray and bake for 12 minutes, until light-golden. Brush the insides of the tarts with the egg wash then put back in the oven for three minutes, until golden. Once cooked, remove the tart rings and leave the pastry cases on a rack to cool.

Turn down the oven temperature to 100C/lowest gas mark.

Meanwhile, for the filling, beat all the ingredients together except for the lemon verbena and lemongrass (if using), then add these to the mixture and transfer to a saucepan. Warm the mixture to 60C, then strain it through a fine sieve.

Pour the mixture into the tart cases and bake for 30 minutes, until the filling is just set but has a slight wobble. Use a digital temperature probe: when the centres reach 75C, they are ready. Remove from the oven and leave to cool at room temperature.

Mix together the yogurtcream ingredients and transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a V-cut or Saint Honore nozzle.

To serve the tarts, pipe the yogurt cream on top of the filling, in a sunflower design. Drizzle some olive oil in the middle of each tart and top with a flower (if using).

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