I have never made any secret about my great love for anything lemon . . . oh I do so adore it. Especially lemon curd. It's such a fabulous ingredient and can be used for so many different things . . . aside from eating it with a spoon from the jar . . . and of course I'd never do anything like that would I?
So anyhow . . . today I had the idea to spread some lemon curd on top of some shortbreads and add a crumble topping. Oh boy . . . was that inspired or what?
They turned out fabulously moreish . . . with a nice and crumbly buttery base . . .
. . . a lip smacking . . . cheek aching . . . sweet/tart lemon center . . .
and a buttery, crumble top . . . with little nuggets of chewy lemon bits here and there along the edges . . . from where the curd touched the hot pan and began to candy itself . . . not a problem if you get a knife in there and loosen them somewhat before they start to really cool.
This is the kind of tea time treat that you will find yourself sneaking into the kitchen for . . . when you think nobody else is looking . . . lifting the lid on the tin ever so quietly . . . picking at a few bits of buttery crumble . . . a little nugget of candied lemon . . . and what the heck, in for a penny, in for a pound . . . before you know it a whole wedge has disappeared and you have no idea what happened.
Of course the tell-tale crumbs that have settled into the corners of your mouth are a dead giveaway . . . not to mention the odd little bits of buttery dandruff that have some how managed to land on the front of your jumper.
ummm . . . I think we must have had a burglar. Yep, that's it. A chubby burglar broke in and ate the last one . . . and you know it would make perfect sense because these are just so darned good, he would not have been able to help helping himself! (or herself as it were!)
*Lemon Curd Shorbread Wedges*Makes 8Printable Recipe
Butter and short with a delectable center of lemon curd and a sweet crumbly topping.
225g of plain flour (1 1/2 cups plus 2 1/2 TBS)125g of semolina or rice flour (11 1/2 TBS)125g of caster sugar (10 1/2 TBS)225g of chilled butter, cut into small bits (1 cup)200g of lemon curd (scant cup)2 additional TBS of sugar
Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Butter and line a 9 inch round tin with a removable bottom.
Measure the flour, sugar and rice flour into a bowl. Add the butter and rub together until the mixture is just starting to stick together. Press half of this into the bottom of the pan, pressing it in using the back of a spoon. Spread the lemon curd over top leaving about 1/2 inch around the edges clear. Stir the 2 TBS of sugar into the remaining crumbs and sprinkle them over top of the lemon curd.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes prior to cutting into 8 wedges. Cut into the wedges and leave to cool for a further 5 minutes before serving.
Dare to bake these. You will not regret it. These would be a great addition to a Tea Party Menu. Just sayin . . .