With its beautiful yellow colour, candied citrus fruits and golden pastry, this gin and tonic lemon tart will wow your guests. Infused with Eden Mill’s Burgandy White Wine Cask Aged Gin, juniper berries and topped with sweet yet refreshing citrus fruits, you won’t want to miss out on this indulgent, boozy dessert.

Preparation time: 45 minutes, plus chilling time

Cooking time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Serves: 8

Pairs Well with: The White Lady Cocktail

Ingredients:

1 x shortcrust pastry block

For the lemon curd filling:

3 tbsp Eden Mill Burgundy White Wine Cask Aged Gin

4 lemons

250g caster sugar

225g unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature

4 medium eggs, plus 2 egg yolks

2 tbsp juniper berries, crushed

2 sheets leaf gelatine

For the candied citrus

175g caster sugar

100ml tonic water

100ml water

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced

1 lime, thinly sliced

2 tbsp Eden Mill Burgundy White Wine Cask Aged Gin

Directions

Grease and line a 23cm flan tin. Roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick, then lift it carefully into the flan tin, pressing into the sides.

Cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 160ºC fan / gas 4.

Prick the pastry all over with a fork then line with baking parchment and baking beans (or rice) and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the paper and baking beans. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes, or until cooked and golden. Set aside and when cool enough to handle, remove from the tin and cool completely on a cooling rack.

To make the curd, in a large heatproof bowl whisk together the gin, zest and juice from the lemons, caster sugar, butter, eggs and juniper berries. Place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Allow the butter to melt then cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring regularly. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Meanwhile, soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water until softened. When the curd is ready, remove from the heat. Squeeze the water from the gelatine and stir into the curd, until fully melted. Strain through a sieve into a bowl. Cover the surface with clingfilm, to stop it forming a skin, and set aside to cool completely.

Once cooled, pour the lemon curd into the pastry case, spreading it to the edges. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight if you can, to set.

To make the candied lemon, put the sugar, tonic and water into a pan and gently heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a simmer and add the lemon and lime slices, simmering for 45 minutes.

Once the fruit is soft and the syrup has thickened, remove from the heat and add the gin. Leave for 5 minutes, then remove the fruit from the pan using tongs and place on a cooking rack to cool. Set the syrup aside to cool.

When you are ready to serve, decorate the top of the tart with the candied citrus and drizzle with the syrup.