Lemon and ginger nut no-bake tart

Prep

Cook

Chill

Serves

Cost 10 min 30 min 2 hr+ 8

Less than 50p a head

For the base

220g ginger nut biscuits

½-1 tsp fennel seeds (optional, but lovely) 50g unsalted butter, melted

Creme fraiche, icing sugar and thyme leaves, to finish

For the lemon custard

300ml lemon juice (ie, from about 6 large lemons)

Zest of 2 lemons

75g unsalted butter, diced

200g caster sugar 4 large egg yolks 25g cornflour

I love a French tarte au citron, but sometimes the faff of making it can be a bit overwhelming. This tart offers the same jaw-tingling, mouth-puckering joy with a quarter of the effort. Purists, look away.

Blitz the biscuits, fennel seeds (if using) and butter in a food processor to a damp, sandy consistency. Tip into a 20cm loose-bottomed fluted tart tin, and press the crumbs evenly into the base and up the sides. Refrigerate while you make the custard.

Put the lemon juice and zest, butter and half the sugar in a medium saucepan and set it over a low heat, until the butter melts. Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl, whisk the remaining sugar with the egg yolks and cornflour, until the sugar is mostly dissolved and the mix is pale and a little more voluminous.

Bring the lemon juice pan to a boil, then pour in a thin stream on to the egg yolk mixture while whisking constantly. Once everything is well mixed, pour it all back into the pan, off the heat for now.

Return the pan to a high heat and whisk constantly, ensuring the whisk is touching the base of the pan at all times to prevent the eggs scrambling – if they do, I’m afraid it’s time to start again. If at any point you need to stop whisking, take the pan off the heat and dip the base in cold water. The custard should be at boiling point to ensure the cornflour is cooked properly.

Pour the hot custard on top of the biscuit base in the tin, then cover with clingfilm or baking paper, making sure it touches the surface of the custard to stop a skin forming. Leave to cool to room temperature, then chill for a few hours. Serve slices of the tart with a blob of creme fraiche, a dusting of icing sugar and a few thyme leaves scattered on top.