Millefeuille with lemon curd and cream

Serves 8-9 (slices) Starters and mains

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Method

First make the lemon curd. Finely grate the zest from the lemons into a heatproof bowl, then squeeze their juice and add to the bowl with the butter andsugar. Sit the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and stir constantly until the butter melts. Strain the eggs into the mixture through a non-reactive sieve and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the curd thickens considerably. Put into small, warm, sterilised jars.

If you are using shop-bought pastry, roll it out on a lightly floured board to form a rectangle about 5mm thick and spread the unsalted butter over two-thirds of the surface to within 1cm of the edges. Fold the unbuttered third over the centre, then the remaining third over that. Seal the edges by pressing lightly with a rolling pin, then chill for 30-40 minutes before proceeding.

Set the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/ Gas 5. Roll out the pastry and cut into 3 rectangles about 30cmx18cm. Grease 2-3 baking sheets and set the pastry rectangles on them. Chill. Beat the egg white until slightly frothy and brush over the pastry being careful to avoid egg white going over the edge. Sprinkle with 2tbsp sugar and bake for 20-30 minutes, until risen and golden.

Transfer to wire racks to cool. When you are ready to serve, whip the cream with the remaining caster sugar and fold in 3tbsp lemon curd. Layer the pastries (keeping the best-looking for the top), with the cream and the remaining 5tbsp lemon curd. Dredge the top thickly with icing sugar and, if you like, mark the top with red-hot skewers to form crisscrossed caramelised lines.

Once assembled, you should serve the millefeuille within the hour.

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