PARISIAN LEMON TART

A hidden layer of decadent chocolate and a thyme-infused crust add surprising bursts of flavour to this twist on classic lemon meringue pie.

Champagne Glaze: 1⅓ cups icing sugar (approx) ¼ cup sparkling wine 2 tbsp blood orange zest

Doughnuts: In saucepan, heat milk with 1 tbsp of the sugar until candy thermometer reads 105°F. Pour mixture into large bowl; sprinkle in yeast and let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, butter, vanilla and remaining sugar. Using wooden spoon, beat in flour and salt, scraping down side of bowl occasionally and adding more flour if necessary to make soft sticky dough. Turn out onto lightly floured work surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 8 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm draft-free place until tripled in size, about 1½ hours.

Blood Orange Cream: Meanwhile, in saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in milk until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick and creamy, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in orange zest, orange juice, vanilla and butter, 1 cube at a time, until melted. Transfer to bowl; cover surface directly with plastic wrap until cooled, about 1 hour. Doughnuts: Punch down dough. Turn out onto lightly floured work surface; roll out to ½-inch thickness. Using lightly floured 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 16 to 18 rounds. Transfer to parchment paper– lined rimless baking sheet. Cover loosely and let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Champagne Glaze: Meanwhile, in wide shallow dish, stir together icing sugar, sparkling wine and orange zest. If glaze is too thin, add more icing sugar, 1 tbsp at a time. Doughnuts: In deep fryer, wok or heavybottomed saucepan, add enough oil to come 2 inches up side; heat until deepfryer thermometer reads 325°F. Deep-fry doughnuts, 3 at a time and turning once, until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towel–lined plate. Assembly: When doughnuts are cool enough to handle, cut small slit in side of each; using pastry bag fitted with small plain tip, pipe Blood Orange Cream into centre of each just until it comes out side. Dip each in glaze to coat. Place on racks to set. Doughnuts are best eaten the same day they’re made.

PER EACH OF 18 SERVINGS: about 415 cal, 6 g pro, 24 g total fat (7 g sat. fat), 44 g carb (1 g dietary fibre, 22 g sugar), 109 mg chol, 154 mg sodium, 119 mg potassium. % RDI: 6% calcium, 13% iron, 14% vit A, 5% vit C, 35% folate. We love the pale pink colour and subtle berry flavour of blood oranges. If you can’t find them, substitute with Cara Cara oranges or navel oranges.

FA ERIE CROWN CAKE

Hands-on time: 1¼ hours Total time: 3 hours Makes: 16 servings

Lemon Cake: 1½ cups unsalted butter, softened 2¼ cups granulated sugar ½ cup liquid egg whites 3 cups all-purpose flour 3 tbsp grated lemon zest 2¼ tsp baking powder ½ tsp each baking soda and salt 1½ cups buttermilk 2 tsp lemon extract 1 tsp vanilla Ombré Icing: 2⅓ cups granulated sugar 1 ¼ cups liquid egg whites 3 cups unsalted butter, cubed ½ cup liquid honey 2 tsp vanilla 1 tsp salt ¼ tsp pink paste food colouring White Chocolate Drip: ½ cup good-quality white chocolate chips 2 tbsp whipping cream (35%) Garnish (optional): Faerie Bark (see recipe, opposite) mini pastel-coloured candy eggs

Lemon Cake: Grease three 8-inch (1.2 L) round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside. In stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter with sugar on medium speed until fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. Beat in egg whites. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In liquid measure, stir together buttermilk, lemon extract and vanilla. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture, alternating with buttermilk mixture, making 3 additions of flour and 2 of buttermilk. Scrape batter into prepared pans, smoothing tops. Bake in 350°F oven until cake tester inserted in centres comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Invert onto racks; peel off parchment paper. Let cool completely. Ombré Icing: In heatproof bowl set over saucepan of gently simmering (not boiling) water, whisk sugar with egg whites until sugar is dissolved and candy thermometer reads 140°F. Pour mixture into stand mixer with whisk attachment; beat on high speed until stiff peaks form and mixture is cooled completely, about 10 minutes. Switch to paddle attachment; beat in butter, 1 cube at a time, on low speed until blended. Continue beating until mixture is smooth, 10 to 15 minutes; beat in honey, vanilla and salt. Remove 1 tbsp of the icing to small bowl; tint with food colouring. Assembly: Using serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to level if necessary. Spread dab of icing in centre of cake plate; top with 1 cake layer, cut side up. Slide strips of waxed paper between edge of cake and plate (to keep plate clean). Spread ⅔ cup of the white icing over cut side; cover with second cake layer, cut side down. Spread ⅔ cup of the white icing over top. Cover with final cake layer, cut side down; spread with ⅓ cup of the white icing. Using offset palette knife, spread thin layer of the white icing all over cake; refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Using palette knife, spread remaining white icing all over cake, smoothing side and top. Place small dots of pink icing around side of cake a few inches apart from middle of cake downward. Using palette knife, smooth pink icing around cake to blend colours for ombré effect. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. White Chocolate Drip: Place chocolate chips in large heatproof bowl. Microwave cream in microwave-safe bowl on high until very hot, about 1 minute. Pour over chocolate; stir until melted and smooth. Let stand at room temperature until cool but still pourable. Spoon chocolate, 1 tbsp at a time, along top edge of cake, letting it drip down side. Spoon remaining chocolate onto middle of top of cake. Garnish: Stand Faerie Bark (if using) on top of cake to resemble crown. Scatter with mini pastel-coloured eggs (if using). Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Bring to room temperature before serving.

PER SERVING: about 851 cal, 6 g pro, 55 g total fat (35 g sat. fat), 88 g carb (1 g dietary fibre, 71 g sugar), 142 mg chol, 354 mg sodium, 120 mg potassium. % RDI: 8% calcium, 9% iron, 47% vit A, 3% vit C, 17% folate. To avoid separating numerous eggs for this recipe, use liquid egg whites. They’re available in cartons in the dairy section of grocery stores.