2 Pour the lemonade and lemon juice into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, and sprinkle over the gelatine powder. Set aside to allow the gelatine to absorb all the liquid.
3 While the gelatine is soaking, put the caster sugar and golden syrup in a saucepan with enough water to cover (around 150ml). Cook over a low heat, stirring all the time, until the sugar has dissolved. As soon as there are no visible grains of sugar, stop stirring, turn up the heat and bring the mixture to the boil. Place a sugar thermometer in the pan and once it reads 1300C take the pan off the heat and allow to cool for 1 minute until the mixture is no longer bubbling.
4 Start whisking the gelatine and lemonade mixture with an electric hand-held whisk or in a stand mixer on a medium speed. Add the syrup mixture, slowly pouring it down the side of the bowl, whisking all the time. Try to avoid pouring it directly on to the whisk or you will get grainy lumps of sugar in the marshmallow. After a few minutes, the mixture should become pale and grow in volume like a very stiff meringue.
5 Once all the syrup has been added, continue to whisk for 5–10 minutes, until the marshmallow mixture becomes really thick. The mixture is ready when the outside of the bowl feels just slightly warm and the marshmallow is starting to get really sticky.
6 Use an oiled spatula to spread the mixture into the lined baking tray, then leave it to set for 2–3 hours at room temperature or until the marshmallow feels firm. Sift the icing sugar and cornflour together into a bowl and stir through the lemon zest. Turn the marshmallow out of the tin, peel off the cling film, then dust the whole marshmallow slab with the powder. Cut into small cubes using a sharp, oiled knife. The marshmallows will keep for 1–2 weeks in an airtight container.
This is my take on a lemon meringue pie – choux-style! Deliciously light pastry stuffed with zingy lemon cream, entirely enrobed in Italian meringue. Whenever my family hosts a spontaneous dinner party or family lunch, profiteroles are one of my go-to recipes. You can replace the lemon curd with any kind of curd – lime, orange or passionfruit all work really well.
MAKES ABOUT 30 PROFITEROLES
PREP TIME: 45–50 MINS PLUS COOLING
COOKING TIME: 20–25 MINS
PASTRY
75g butter, diced
1 tsp caster sugar
50g plain flour
50g strong bread flour
3 eggs
LEMON CREAM FILLING
250ml double cream
100g lemon curd, plus 2 tbsp for drizzling
Grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
ITALIAN MERINGUE TOPPING
150g caster sugar
2 egg whites
You will also need three disposable piping bags, a sugar thermometer and a blowtorch.
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4 and line 2 large baking sheets with baking parchment.
2 To make the pastry, place the butter, sugar and 125ml of water in a small saucepan over a medium–high heat. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, and when all the butter has melted add the flours and vigorously beat the mixture with a wooden spoon until a smooth ball of dough forms.
3 Keep the pan on the heat and continue to cook the dough, stirring rapidly, for a further minute. Tip the dough into a bowl and leave it to cool until it has stopped steaming, to avoid scrambling the eggs.
4 Beat the eggs together briefly in a small jug. Add the eggs to the cooled dough in three separate additions, beating well between each one with a wooden spoon or spatula, mixing until it turns into a thick paste. You might not need to add all the egg so when you are adding the final amount, add it slowly. Your mixture should fall off the spoon or spatula easily and leave a ‘V’ shape. Spoon the choux pastry into one of the piping bags.
5 Snip the end off the piping bag and pipe the dough into about thirty 2.5cm balls on the baking sheets, leaving enough space for them to spread out. Use a wet finger to smooth over any peaks. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until risen, golden brown and hollow, then turn off the oven and leave them in the oven (with the door closed) to cool completely. This will dry out the pastry.
6 While the pastry is drying, make the lemon cream filling. Whip the cream in a large bowl until it forms soft peaks, then fold it through the lemon curd and lemon zest. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag, and set it to one side.
7 To make the meringue topping, put the sugar in a small saucepan with 75ml of water over a medium heat and stir until the grains of sugar have dissolved, then bring the mixture to the boil and put a sugar thermometer in the pan.
8 While the syrup is heating up, whisk the egg whites in a clean, grease-free bowl using an electric hand-held whisk or a stand mixer until they form soft peaks.
9 When the sugar syrup reaches 1180C, pour it gradually down the side of the bowl into the whites, whisking all the time. Try to avoid pouring the syrup on to the beaters, as this will create hard sugar crystals. Continue to whisk the meringue for 10 minutes until it is really thick and glossy. Spoon the meringue mixture into the third piping bag so it is ready to use.
10 Pierce a small hole in the bottom of each cooled profiterole, snip the end off the lemon-cream piping bag and fill the profiteroles with the lemon cream. Arrange about 10 profiteroles on a large serving plate as the bottom layer. Construct a pyramid, using a little meringue as glue.
11 Pipe the meringue mixture around the profiterole stack. Use a blowtorch to brown the meringue to get the full lemon-meringue effect! Drizzle lemon curd over the top of the stack as a finishing touch.
Preserved lemon and olive focaccia
Preserved lemons originate from North Africa and have recently grown in popularity here in the UK. Soaking lemons in salt water doesn’t sound like a radical concept, but it utterly transforms the often harsh flavour of lemon into something much mellower. You can bite straight into a slice of preserved lemon without any of that jaw-clenching sharpness, which allows you to enjoy the aromas and textures of lemon in a new way. I also use lemon-infused oil, which you can buy from good supermarkets, as the main oil in this dough, which disperses a gentle lemon flavour throughout.
MAKES 1 LOAF
PREP TIME: 30 MINS PLUS PROVING TIME
COOKING TIME: 20 MINS
500g strong plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 × 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
2 tsp fine salt
30ml lemon-infused oil (or olive oil), plus extra olive oil for greasing
300ml