individual lemon tarts.

If all good things come in small packages, then these lemon tarts are no exception. With a rich, buttery pastry and the zing from two lemons, this dessert recipe is the perfect mix of sharp citrus and sweet indulgence. Make ahead for a Spring or Summer dinner party, dusting with extra icing sugar to finish.

easy lemon and rose petal cupcakes: #icakeyou.

And so on to part three of my #ICAKEYOU collaboration with Betty Crocker. These baking treats were a midweek pick-me-up to my team at work. Having made the lovely Betty Crocker red velvet cake and used their mixes for my carrot cake pops, I couldn't wait to get my hands on their lemon cake mix to give these cupcakes a whirl. After using their lemon sponge and simple lemon buttercream, I sprinkled with edible rose petals and... ta da!

chilli crab & avocado toast.

a fresh and healthy midweek meal, a weekend lunch or perhaps canapes for guests, this recipe combines my love of chilli, lemon and white crab meat with creamy avocado and crunchy brown toast. what's more, this is now featured in saco kitchen's summer recipe inspiration.

homemade crab ravioli with mascarpone, lemon and dill.

shopping list.
makes one large portion or two small.

for the pasta
♥ 100g "00" grade white flour
♥ one egg

for the crab filling
♥ one tin of white crab meat
♥ 100g mascarpone cheese
♥ the juice of one lemon
♥ one tablespoon of dill

begin by making pasta, with a machine, like in my first attempt at homemade pasta post. you pretty much use 100g flour to one egg. this was a really big portion for myself and i didn't actually end up eating it all. but it was very therapeutic to make! :) the actual pasta making takes around 15 minutes and the crab filling takes next to no time to mix together. 

nigella lawson's crab linguine with chilli and lemon.

I wish I could say that I invented this delicious crab linguine recipe but alas it another of the lovely Nigella's. 

With my fave combo ingredients of garlic, lemon, chilli, peppery leaves and of course seafood - I can't get enough of this dish. It's gorgeous as a main meal but any leftovers are amazing the next day served cold as a light lunch. 

Shopping list.
(Serves two)
♥ 120g linguine
♥ 170g white crab meat
♥ Two garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
♥ One red chilli, sliced and deseeded
♥ Half a lemon lemon, juice and zest
♥ Sea salt and pepper
♥ 75ml good quality olive oil
♥ Rocket, to serve

I do get a bit frightened of de-seeding chillis and wash my hands every 3 minutes. but other than that this is such a simple recipe. In short, you boil the pasta whilst putting the rest of the ingredients together in a pestle and mortar, tossing them all together with the crab meat at the end. 

I made it with white crab meat, not with a mixture of white and brown in Nigella's recipe. It is quite expensive at £2-£2.50 for a 170g tin but it's so worth it when you think about how much you might spend on this in a restaurant. I also used a mix of watercress and rocket but ended up using mainly rocket. It's becoming an addiction.

Click to try the crab linguine with chilli and watercress a la Nigella! Or try out my other seafood recipes here...

lovely lemon and almond frangipane tart.

shopping list
♥ 340g ready to roll sweet pastry
♥ 100 caster sugar
♥ 100g unsalted butter
♥ zest of two lemons
♥ two eggs
♥ 30g plain flour
♥ 90g ground almonds
♥ eight tbsp lemon curd
♥ 30g flaked almonds
♥ icing sugar for dusting
♥ double or clotted cream





preheat the oven to 180 degrees, gas mark six.this is best served in a 9" tart tin so grab one of those, or something similar and line it with a little butter. a good tip for this is to use the butter wrapper to spread it around the tin evenly.

roll out the sweet pastry block with a little flour to prevent it from sticking to your side board. be gentle and try to do it in your first attempt as the pastry can be quite crumbly and get a little tired. if bits do break up, don't worry, just use a patchwork effect with the leftover pastry and use your thumb
to blend it in to fill the gaps, as in my picture.
ignore the lemons, they were there to make it look pretty.

to make the frangipane, beat the butter, sugar and
zest until creamy and airy. use the smallest sized side of the grater for a subtle lemon taste, with perhaps a few larger shavings for a really fresh flavour. now the next part is a little bit of a juggling act. and perhaps time to bring in your glamorous assistant/mum/unsuspecting (but also quite hungry) housemate. for best results, add the eggs one by one, beating as you go, with a spoonful of the ground almonds each time. lastly mix in the remaining ground almonds and flour. rather fiddly yes, but worth it for a really light and tasty, sponge-like filling.

now back to the tart base. the lemon curd acts in the
same way as a bakewell tart would have strawberry or
raspberry jam layer. spread lemon curd over the tart base
and spoon the frangipane on top. use the back of the spoon to spread evenly.

in fact, i haven't tried it yet but i'm sure if you could adapt this recipe with different types of jam. but don't hold me to that.

serve with whichever cream takes your fancy, slice (or don't slice) and enjoy!