Lime tart, meringue and roasted banana ice cream

Serves 10 Desserts and puddings

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Method

Using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, cream the butter and icing sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat the egg and yolks together, then beat into the creamed mixture. Add the flour and stop mixing as soon as a dough is formed.

Tip the dough onto a floured surface and knead briefly until smooth. Divide in half, shape each piece into a ball and flatten. Wrap both discs in cling film. Allow one to rest, chilled, for 30 minutes; freeze the other to use another day.

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/ Gas 7. Roast the bananas in their skins for 1 hour. When cool, peel them: you need 300g of roasted banana flesh. Put this flesh into a food processor with the milk and cream and blitz until well combined, then transfer to a saucepan and bring to a simmer.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla seeds together until light and fluffy. Pour on the hot banana mixture, whisking constantly until smooth.

Stand the bowl over a larger bowl of ice to cool the mixture quickly. Pour into an ice-cream machine. Churn until frozen and then transfer to a container and freeze until ready to serve. Roll out the chilled pastry on a floured surface to the thickness of a £1 coin and use to line a loose-based 25cm round tart tin, pressing it firmly into the edges of the tin and making sure there are no holes or cracks. Leave a little excess pastry extending above the rim. Prick the bottom of the pastry case with a fork several times. Line the tart case with scrunched-up greaseproof paper and add a layer of baking beans. Allow to rest, chilled, for 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

Bake the pastry case in the oven for 15 minutes, then remove the baking beans and paper and return the tart case to the oven for 5 minutes, until golden and cooked.

Take the tart case out of the oven and brush the inside well with egg wash. Return to the oven for
2 minutes to set the egg wash. Place the tart case on a wire rack to cool; do not remove it from the tin at this stage. Lower the oven setting to 130C/265F/Gas 1.

Pour the cream into a saucepan, add the lime zest and juice and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl. Pour on the hot cream mixture and whisk. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve into a jug and allow to cool.

Once the filling has cooled, stand the tart tin on a baking sheet in the oven and carefully pour the custard mixture into the pastry case. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the custard is set with a slight wobble in the middle. Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then trim off the excess pastry, crumble a little of it and reserve for serving.

For the crisp meringue, heat your oven to 130C/265F/Gas 1 and line a baking sheet with a non-stick silicone mat or baking parchment. Wipe your stand mixer bowl with kitchen paper dipped in vinegar to remove any trace of grease. Using a stand mixer or electric hand whisk, beat the egg whites with a third of the sugar to soft peaks. Add another third of the sugar and whisk for 2 minutes, then add the remaining sugar and whisk for 30 seconds. Carefully fold in the cornflour.

Spoon the meringue onto the lined baking sheet and spread out evenly, using a cranked palette knife. Bake in the oven for 1 hour, until crisp. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Once the meringue is cool, break it up into pieces and keep in an airtight container until needed.

To make the Italian meringue, put the sugar, glucose and 40ml of water into a heavy-based saucepan and bring to a simmer. Let the sugar syrup bubble steadily until it registers 120C/250F on
a thermometer. Wipe your stand mixer bowl with kitchen paper dipped in vinegar. When the sugar syrup reaches around 115C/235F, whisk the egg whites in the mixer bowl on a medium speed until soft peaks form, but don’t overmix.

When the sugar syrup is at 120C/250F, pour it in a steady stream onto the egg whites with the mixer on full speed. Reduce the speed to low and mix until the meringue is cooled. Transfer to a piping bag and chill until needed. Sprinkle the icing sugar over the surface of the tart and caramelise evenly, using a cook’s blowtorch. Sprinkle with lime zest and then, using a hot, sharp knife, cut the tart into 10 slices. Place a slice on each plate and pipe a dome of Italian meringue alongside. Place some crisp meringue pieces on top of the dome. Create a small pile of pastry crumbs on the plate and place a neat spoonful of ice cream on top. Serve immediately.