Oh what a delectable dessert this is! A generous layer of lemon zingy, melt-in-the-mouth crème patisserie, encased in a buttery almond pastry, topped with frangipani topping and raspberries. Don’t panic at the 3 sets of ingredients. Admittedly this isn’t a pudding you slam together 5 mins before your mates come round but it’s perfectly do-able if you’re willing to do a little prep while you’re listening to something nice on the radio.
I’m no good at making things look sophisticated and I like to move on to the eating part as quickly as possible anyway. But if you are, I’d say the fine flavours and textures in this treat would make this a strong dinner party contender.
You’ll need to make this dessert in advance to allow the crème patisserie time to cool and set. (At least a couple of hours). Ingredients are for a 20cm pie dish.
For the pastry Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180C Put the almond flour in a bowl. Add spice and sweetener and mix. Add the melted butter and egg and blend well. Use your hand to bring the mixture together into a pastry dough. If the mixture is a little bit crumbly for rolling out - add a tiny bit of oil and work it into the dough to bind it. Roll the pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper until it is roughly the right size and shape to fit your dish. (I used a 20cm dish). Remove the top layer of baking paper when ready, place the buttered pie dish on the top. Then turn pastry and dish the right way up. Carefully remove the top layer of baking paper and press the pastry into the dish. You may need to cut and paste bits of surplus pastry to cover the dish as evenly as possible. Bake the pastry in the oven for 10-15 minutes until its just started to firm up. Set the dish to one side.
For the lemon crème patisserie Put the eggs, sweetener in a bowl and whisk together until the mixture pales. Add the cornflour and mix well. Put the milk and lemon zest in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Pour the milk over the mix in the bowl and whisk continuously until everything is smooth. Pour the custard into the pan and place over a medium heat. Simmer for a couple of minutes stirring continuously as it thickens. Remove from the heat and add the butter and lemon juice. Pour the mixture into a bowl and cover with clingfilm to stop a skin forming. Leave to cool and then pop in the fridge until cold. Allow a couple of hours.
For the frangipani Tip all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until everything is combined. When ready serve spread the crème patisserie over the base of the pastry crust. The frangipani will be like a soft pastry now it has cooled. Mould into a ball. Flatten out into a circle and place over the top of the custard. Decorate with raspberries.
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