Lemon Souffle

Intro

I don't know where this recipe came from but it is one of my Mums. Its more of a mousse so I don't know why we call it a souffle ... but we do.

For our family Christmas lunch would not be complete at all without a big glass bowl of this light as a feather gorgeous dessert. We usually don't decorate it at all - just plain - and serve it with big fragrant strawberries or raspberries. On a whim once I added tequila, on the assumption that tequila improves pretty much anything, and while it was nice I wouldn't mess with the recipe too much. Its perfection just as it is.

Recipe

• 4 separated eggs
• 8 tablespoons caster sugar
• 2 and a half lemons - finely grated zest and juiced
• 2 teaspoons gelatine soaked in 5 tablespoons cold water
• 1/2 pint cream

Place the egg yolks, sugar, lemon rind and juice in a basin over hot water on the stove and whisk until the sugar dissolves and mixture thickens a little. Remove from the heat, place in a cold water bath and whisk until it is cooled and thickened. Take the dissolved gelatine and stir into the egg yolk mixture. Whip cream until thick and fold gently into yolk mixture. Its much easier to get a smooth dessert if you don't over whip the cream. Whip the egg whites until stiff - again not too stiff - and fold through gently. Pour into serving bowls, 1 big or individuals, cover with gladwrap, refrigerate overnight and and serve.

No-bake lemon coconut slice

 Intro

A Kiwi classic straight out of the Australian Women's Weekly Beautiful Biscuits book.

Ingredients

Base

• 1 tin of condensed milk (1 cup)
• 250g of butter
• 2 packets of wine biscuits (500g plain sweet biscuits) 
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 2 cups of desicated coconut

Icing

• 2 cups of icing sugar
• 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 30g of butter
• 1/4 cup of coconut

Method

Crush the biscuits very finely.

Melt the butter and condensed milk together.

Mix the ingredients together and then press into a greased or lined swiss roll tin. Place in the fridge while you make the icing.

Melt the butter and mix all the ingredients together. Pur over the base and sprinkle with coconut. Keep in the fridge. 

Lemon Honey

Intro 

An oldie but a goodie from the Edmonds Cookery Book. This is a Kiwi classic that every home-leaver, new bride and divorcee is given a copy of ... in fact I don't think I've ever met a home without a copy tucked into a drawer somewhere. 
Lemon honey is a key component of a slice I 'invented' while trying to replicate a lemon slice from The White House, a ski lodge I stayed in at Ohakune in the late 80s. I never did get it right but my slice is pretty good. Everyone grows lemons in Levin - except me - so whenever I get given too many to use quickly I make this. 

Recipe

Place together in a bowl:

• 500g sugar
• 125g butter
• finely grated rind and strained juice of 4 lemons
• 4 eggs

Place bowl in microwave and zap for 30 seconds then stir or whisk, 30 seconds then stir or whisk and so on until it gets nice and thick. It might take 5 minutes. (You are meant to do this in a double boiler but I can never be bothered). Pour into hot jars and cover when cold. Store in fridge. Use on Vogel's toast (my favourite), as a tartlet or pie filling or in Lemon Coconut slice.

Old Fashioned Lemon Drink

Intro

Diane Edyvane's old fashioned lemon drink is world famous in Levin after she served it up at our annual volunteers morning tea party. Everyone in Horowhenua (except me) grows lemons and Diane and Fred are no exception - acres of citrus including limes, several varieties of lemon, grapefruit etc. Sometimes she uses a few limes as well as lemon in this cordial - just for a change. This is another old family recipe - not my families - but Diane remembers her Mother making this, as did hers - often with tartaric acid and epsom salts as well as the citric acid. 

Recipe

• 6 lemons (8 or 9 if small)
• 1.5 kg sugar (1.3 kg)
• 50 g citric acid
• boiling water

Peel the rind off two lemons. Place peel plus 2 cups of sugar in food processor and process until well ground. Squeeze the juice from the six lemons and mix juice with lemon sugar, the remaining sugar and the citric acid. Add boiling water making total volume up to 3 litres and stir to dissolve. Cool and store. Serve diluted with water about 1 part cordial to 5 or 6 parts water depending on taste.

Lemon Coconut Slice

Intro

This is a slice I 'invented' in the process of trying to replicate a lemon slice I tasted while staying at The White House, a ski lodge in Ohakune. I never did get it right but my slice is pretty good. Everyone grows lemons in Levin - except me - so whenever I get given too many to use quickly I make this.

Recipe

Pastry

Cream 60g butter then add 2 tablespoons sugar beating until just combined - don't overmix or it will be tough. Add 1 lightly beaten egg then fold in 1 cup plain flour and 2 tablespoons self raising flour. Knead very lightly then rest in fridge in 20 mins. Press into a swiss roll tin - it will be thin.

Filling

Spread over a half quantity of lemon honey.

Topping

Mix together then sprinkle evenly over the lemon filling:

• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 and a half cups of thread coconut

Bake for 25 minutes at 180 degrees until the top is lightly browned and the base is cooked through.