{Lime Tart}

This tart is another of Nigel Slaters recipes, his food is just so gorgeous, I wish I was his friend and could go to dinner at his house, alas he couldn't live further away and so I have to make do with following his recipes and sharing them with my own friends, this was perfect eaten during an outdoor summery lunch accompanied by a few vinos and just before a backyard game of cricket, ahhh summer, how delightful.

...the pastry

170g plain flour

50g icing sugar
90g butter
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp cold water

...the filling

6 eggs
250g caster sugar
the juice of 5-7 limes (180ml)
175ml double cream

To make the pastry put the flour and icing sugar into a bowl, add the butter which is cut into chunks, and rub till it resembles fine breadcrumbs, mix in the egg yolks and the water and bring the dough together into a thick log with your hands. Wrap in greaseproof paper and refrigerate for half an hour.

Preheat oven to 200, cut thin slices from the log of pastry, then press them into your tart tin (needs high sides 3.5cm), pressing the pastry gently up the sides and over the base (it is too fragile to roll.) Make certain that there are no holes or cracks, otherwise the filling will leak through. Place a sheet of greaseproof paper into tart case and fill it with baking beans, blind bake the tart case for 10 minutes, then remove the greaseproof paper and bake for a further 5 until the pastry is dry to the touch.

Turn the oven down to 150. Finely grate the zest from two of the limes. Squeeze enough limes to get 180ml of juice (this depends on their ripeness). Mix the eggs and sugar, beating lightly for a few seconds till combined - you don't want it to be frothy - then stir in the lime juice and cream. Pour through a sieve, then stir in the lime zest. Pour into the baked tart tin and bake for 45-50 minutes. Remove while the filling is still a little wobbly. Leave to cool, then sprinkle with icing sugar to serve.