Name: Lemon tarte Tatin with bay leaf ice-cream
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 105 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 4 lemons (160gm each), cut into 5mm-thick slices; 165 gm (¾ cup) caster sugar; 50 gm unsalted butter, chopped; 375 gm gm sheet butter puff pastry, rolled to 4mm thick, cut into a 25cm round; Bay leaf ice-cream; 500 ml (2 cups) milk; 8 bay leaves; 220 gm (1 cup) caster sugar; 300 ml thickened cream; 7 egg yolks

Bay and lemon are the perfect double act. Aromatic and warming (even in ice-cream form), bay plays the straight guy as lemon’s sharpness cuts through.

Ingredients

4 lemons (160gm each), cut into 5mm-thick slices

165 gm (¾ cup) caster sugar

50 gm unsalted butter, chopped

375 gm gm sheet butter puff pastry, rolled to 4mm thick, cut into a 25cm round

Bay leaf ice-cream

500 ml (2 cups) milk

8 bay leaves

220 gm (1 cup) caster sugar

300 ml thickened cream

7 egg yolks

Method

1.For ice-cream, place milk, bay leaves and half the sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature (1 hour, see note). Strain mixture into a clean saucepan and stir in cream; bring to a simmer over low heat. Whisk yolks and remaining sugar in a bowl until thick and pale (4-5 minutes); whisk in cream mixture. Return to saucepan and stir continuously over low-medium heat until mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon (5-6 minutes). Strain into a bowl placed over ice and cool completely. Churn in an ice-cream machine and freeze until required (makes about 1.5 litres).

2.Place lemon slices in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Drain. Repeat 4 times until lemon rind is just tender. Carefully remove lemon slices and transfer to a tray lined with baking paper to cool.

3.Preheat oven to 200°C. Scatter sugar evenly over base of a 22cm diameter cast-iron or stainless-steel frying pan and cook over high heat until sugar begins to dissolve and caramelise around edge (1-2 minutes). Start swirling pan occasionally (do not stir) to caramelise sugar evenly (3-4 minutes). Add butter and swirl to combine (20-30 seconds), then remove from heat and arrange lemon slices, slightly overlapping, in concentric circles over caramel. Cover with puff pastry, tucking edges down around lemons with a spoon. Score centre for steam to escape, then bake until pastry is dark golden and puffed (30-35 minutes).

4.Remove from oven, stand tart in pan for 2 minutes, then place a plate on top and gently shake pan to loosen tart. Working quickly, invert tart, being very careful of hot caramel drips. Slice and serve hot with bay leaf ice-cream.

For a more intensely flavoured ice-cream, cover milk mixture and refrigerate overnight to infuse.
Notes

Maxwell Adey Senior Food Editor & Stylist

Maxwell has always been passionate about food. Born into a restaurateur and award-winning produce farming family, he was strongly steered into pursuing a career in advertising after completing his Bachelor of Public Communication at University of Technology, Sydney. After a very short stint, he decided to enrol in Commercial Cookery at TAFE to follow his true passion. Maxwell started out working in some of Sydney’s finest restaurants (Est., Claude’s and Moon Park) which helped further his love of all things culinary and developed his technical ability to cook. Later, he was lured into the magical world of food publishing where he freelanced for ten years for notable Australian commercial and editorial brands. He has also run his own business where he sells his marinated olives, dressings and sauces at food markets and select retailers. He excitingly joins the Gourmet Traveller team to bring his technical and creative expertise in food to the brand.

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Styling by Olivia Blackmore

Ingredients

Method

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