Lemon Tarts

Preheat oven to fan 180°C, conventional 200°C, gas 6. Place the flour in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and blitz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and blitz for a second. Add egg yolks gradually, and the water if necessary to form a soft dough, being careful not to over mix as this will toughen the pastry. Wrap well in cling film and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Roll out pastry to line a 25cm flan ring, pressing the pastry into the flan making it sit slightly proud of the tin. Chill for 30 minutes, line with baking parchment and baking beans, bake blind for 10 minutes. Remove the parchment and baking beans, turn the oven down to fan 160°C, conventional 180°C, gas 4, and bake for a further 5 minutes to crisp the pastry base. Reduce the oven temperature to fan 130°C, conventional 150°C, gas 2. To make the filling, mix the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice and cream, mix and strain through a sieve. Stir in the lemon rind. Pour the filling into the flan case. Bake for 35 minutes or until the filling is firm, avoid overcooking as this will cause shrinkage and cracking of the filling. Chill well before serving.

Preparation time: 40 minutes. Cooking time: 50 minutes. Serves: 8-10, alternatively makes 6 individual flans.