THE IDEAL RECIPE FOR HOT LEMON CURD PUDDING

Check out this recipe for hot lemon curd pudding with pine nut ice cream, fennel sorbet and Early Grey tea parfait.

You should begin the process the day before eating. First, make the pine nut ice cream and fennel sorbet, as they need the longest to set. If you’re on a roll, make the Earl Grey tea parfait the day before too.

Which you do first is up to you.

Pine nut ice cream

(makes a small tub – roughly 6 servings)

• 170g of pine nuts
• 500ml of full-fat milk
• 160ml of cream
• 140g of caster sugar
• 4 egg yolks from medium sized eggs (with whites reserved)

Fennel sorbet

(makes a small rub – roughly 4 servings)

• 2 fennel bulbs
• 2 tablespoons of Pernot
• 1 star anise
• 190ml water
• 175g sugar
• 15g liquid glucose
• 1 lime juiced
• A few basil leaves

Say you opted to make the ice cream first;

1. Warm a splash of milk (10ml should be fine). Put the pine nuts in a food processor and blitz with the warmed milk to a paste
2. Bring the rest of the milk and the cream to the boil, together. Allow to cool
3. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and creamy
4. Pour the milk and cream mixture over the egg yolk and sugar. Pour at a gradual pace and constantly whisk, to avoid the yolks cooking, although not vigorously as you don’t want a layer of foam to develop
5. Whisk in the pine nut paste and cook on a low heat, always stirring, until the mix thickens to a custard (to a temperature of 80°c)
6. Strain into a new container or bowl and allow to completely cool – I would suggest bringing down to room temperature and then finishing off the cooling in the fridge
7. Churn in an ice cream maker until it is thickened and creamy. Freeze

Next, the sorbet.

1. Toast the star anise in a pan for a minute. When it begins to release its aroma, add the pernot and bring the boil. Take off the heat and allow to cool
2. On a mandolin, slice the fennel on the thinnest setting. Reserve the fronds
3. Place the fennel in a shallow tub, pour over the cool pernot and freeze
4. Bring the water, sugar and liquid glucose to the boil, stirring occasionally so the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and allow to cool
5. Take the fennel out of the freezer once partially frozen, add a few leaves of basil and the fennel fronds. Blitz and strain, making roughly 250 ml of fennel juice. Blitz again with the water, glucose and sugar
6. Strain into an ice cream maker and churn until you have a slushy like consistency. Freeze 

Earl Grey tea parfait

(makes 8 servings – circular cutter of 4cm diameter)

This parfait has a fairly loose set, so serve straight after removing from the freezer

• 2 Earl Grey tea bags
• 20ml of lemon (or bergamot if you can find it) juice
• 20 ml water
• 1 sheet of gelatine
• 4 egg yolks
• 72g caster sugar
• 60ml whipping cream
• 12 ml double cream

For the parfait,

1. Make the tea. Bring the lemon juice and water to the boil. Take off the heat and add the tea bags. Let brew.
2. When the tea has infused with a deep orange colour and tastes sufficiently Earl Grey-like without being bitter, remove the tea bag
3. Bloom the gelatin in cold water for 4 – 5 minutes
4. Heat the double cream until warm
5. Add the sugar to the tea mixture, and bring to 118°c – achieving a syrupy texture
6. During that time, whisk the egg yolks to a pale colour
7. Squeeze excess moisture from the gelatin, add it to the double cream and stir until incorporated.
8. Pour the syrup over the yolks gradually, whisking continuously to avoid the egg cooking. Stir in the double cream and geltaine
9. Whisk the whipping cream to soft peaks and fold in the egg and syrup mixture
10. Pour the parfait mixture into a lined, flat tin so it reaches about a 1cm in depth. Freeze

Basil meringue

At this stage you’ll notice a lot of reserved egg whites. You can use some to add texture to the dish, if you like

• 85 g icing sugar, sieved
• 80 g egg whites, at room temperature
• a squeeze of lime
• 4 basil leaves, cut into fine strips

1. Set the oven to 75°c – 100°c depending on how much time you have. The lower the longer you’ll need
2. Whisk the egg whites and lime to soft peaks
3. Mix the icing sugar and basil together and add a spoonful at a time to the egg whites, still whisking until firm peaks form
4. Spread evenly and thinly over a baking tray lined with baking paper
5. Bake until completely dried out and crispy. Break into shards and store in an airtight container 

Hot lemon curd pudding

(makes 6 individual portions – ramekins of 6cm diameter) 

Make immediately before cooking. Alternatively, prepare all of the stages in advance and complete by whisking the egg whites just prior to cooking. This is not a soufflé, and does not live or die by its rise, though expect some.

• 50 g butter
• 200 g golden caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 lemon’s zest
• 2 lemon’s juice
• 3 eggs, yolks and whites separated
• 50 g plain flour, sieved
• 250 ml milk

1. Heat the oven to 170°c. Place a tray in the oven with water roughly 2cm high. Allow the water to come to heat
2. Gently warm the milk
3. Beat the butter, sugar, lemon zest and hot water together
4. Add the flour and lemon juice and mix
5. Add the egg yolks one by one, mixing with a whisk
6. Slowly add the warm milk and whisk slowly until you have a smooth batter
7. Whisk the egg whites to firm, but not stiff, peaks and gently fold the two components together
8. Pour to the top of ramekins lined with butter and place in the bain-marie in the oven.
9. Bake for 25 minutes. You want the top to be browned and slightly crisp, with the sides being of a soufflé consistency and the base a lovely, piping hot lemon curd. That’s the magic

To serve

• A handful of toasted fennel seeds and pine nuts, blitzed to a coarse dust
• A handful of fennel fronds and/or fresh basil leaves cut into strips

1. On a circular plate, place the hot lemon pudding, still in his ramekin.

Do not turn out, as we want to keep the three distinct layers of texture in tact.

2. Put a small amount of the dust on the plate to prevent slippage, then place the parfait on top
3. Put a small amount of the dust on top of the parfait and rest a small quenelle of the pine nut ice cream on top.
4. Crumble a small amount of meringue onto the remaining space on the plate and rest a small scoop of the fennel sorbet on it
5. Be creative with the meringue shards, basil and fronds if you wish
6. Enjoy hot