What's Cooking?

SITUATED in the heart of Mayfair, Tempo Restaurant and Bar brings a little piece of the Almafi coast to London. While head chef Yoshi Yamada may seem like a counterintuitive choice for an Italian restaurant, he definitely has the cooking credentials to back it up. In addition to spending four years at Michelin star restaurants in Sorrento, Sardinia and Florence, he has also paid his dues in the kitchen at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.

Yamada is inspired by his hands-on experiences while moving around the different regions of Italy, however his rustic menu at Tempo is most influenced by his time in Sorrento. Today's recipe is one of our favourites... and a showstopper any night of the week.

LEMON TART

For one round tart tin (24 cm)

For the tart base

• 80g butter, unsalted (room temperature, needs to be soft)
• 40g icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk (medium)
• 140g sieved plain flour

For the lemon tart filling

• 2 medium eggs
• Yolk of 1 medium egg
• 150g caster sugar
• 130ml double cream
• 200ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 40g Demerara sugar for caramelising

For the tart base

• In a bowl, mix the softened butter and icing sugar
• Add one egg yolk and mix
• Add the flour and mix
• Make a flat round shape, wrap with cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes
• With a rolling pin, press the tart base mixture until gets 0.3-0.5cm thickness
• Fit into the tart tin and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes

For the lemon tart filling

•  Mix all ingredients other than the Demerara sugar together well and keep aside

Cooking method

• Line the tart base with grease proof paper and cover base with baking beans. Blind bake in the centre of the pre-heated oven at 160c for 15 minutes
• Remove the beans and bake for another 12 minutes
• Brush the egg yolk onto the pastry
• Bake the tart base for another 3 minutes to seal the egg yolk
• Pour in the filling into the tart base
• Bake for 30-40 minutes in the oven at 110c until set
• Store in the fridge

To serve

• Cut into 8 wedges
• Sprinkle with Demerara sugar and caramelise the surface with blowtorch. This must be done to the individual wedges rather than when the tart is whole
• Serve with crème fraîche

TempoMayfair.co.uk

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