This is where Gin & Tonic meets a tart, what a fabulous combo if ever there was one! This is my favourite tipple turned into a lip smackingly zesty, dreamy creamy custard and all encased in buttery biscuit like pastry…oh yes, hello hello hello!

At the moment there are glorious lemons growing all over Ibiza, my little tree is a bit sparse but my lovely friend Camilla dropped off two big bags of lovely lemons at the weekend.

We had a little gin & tonic together and hey presto, I was inspired to get cooking.

I used my new favourite gin LAW that is distilled here in Ibiza. It’s a true gin lovers gin and unlike any I have ever tried before. It is really authentic Ibiza, meaning it is made by hand in a traditional way with 100% natural ingredients from all over the island – hand picked juniper, green cardamom, coriander seeds, Spanish cucumber, lemons and orange…but the secret stars are the prickly pear and padron peppers.

LAW Gin is refined by distillation of salt from Ibiza’s famous salt works which have been in continuous operation since the times of the Phoenicians and have long been a hallmark of the island. Each bottle of LAW contains a small pinch of genuine sea air, it just seemed so fitting to be using Ibiza’s own incredible gin in this recipe. This brand is set to rock the gin world, trust me!

A good lemon tart is a true ‘chef’s pudding’. True foodies and pastry chefs gravitate to this on a restaurant menu as it sorts out the men from the boys. It shows how far you dare go in getting the right creamy thick filling (which has to be the perfect balance of sweet and sharp) all held within a thin, but crisp pastry. If the tart splits during baking it will flow out and it’s game over. You just tidy up the edges of the tarts when they are cool.

I think I might have the cocktail desserts bug now…watch out for mojito, espresso martini and pina colada tarts coming soon!

Ingredients

Makes 5 individual tarts – or one large tart

For the pastry

225g plain flour, sifted, plus extra to dust

pinch salt

50g icing sugar, sifted

125g chilled unsalted butter, chopped into chunks

2 tsp lemon zest

1 egg yolk

4 tablespoons chilled tonic water

For the filling

8 eggs

260g caster sugar

6 lemons juice finely grated lemon zest,

250ml fresh lemon juice

375ml double cream

75ml gin (I used LAW)

For the gin & tonic syrup

100g caster sugar

150ml tonic water (I used Fever Tree)

Very thinly sliced lemon zest

juice of 2 lemons

100ml gin (I used LAW)

2 teaspoons Angostura Bitters (optional)

Serve with vanilla bean crème fraiche and a Gin & Tonic of course!

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and lightly grease individual tins or a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin.
2. Now make the pastry – put the flour, icing sugar, butter and lemon zest in a food and gently rub until it resembles fine crumbs. Add the egg yolk and tonic water and mix until the mixture comes together in a smooth ball. You can do this in a food processor if you have one. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.

3. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface until 5mm thick then line the tart tin(s) . Chill for a further 15 minutes.

4. Prick the pastry base with a fork then line with some baking paper and fill with baking beads or uncooked rice. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the paper and beads/rice and bake for a further 5 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Allow to cool.

5. Now turn oven to 100oc. To make the filling, break the eggs into a bowl and whisk gently to break up the yolks. Add the sugar and continue to mix, then add the cream, lemon juice and gin, but not the zest. Pass the mixture through a sieve and then add the lemon zest. Pour the filling into the cooled tart shell and bake for 50 min-1 hour until just set.
6. 6 .Meanwhile make the syrup, place the sugar, tonic water and lemon juice in a saucepan over low heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add gin and angostura bitters (optional) and simmer for 5-10 minutes until slightly thickened. Pour boiling water over the lemon strips/zest for 2 minutes, then drain and add to the syrup. Simmer for a further 5 minutes. Cool completely.

7. Serve with crème fraiche mixed with vanilla bean paste and then drizzle the syrup over the tart and serve.

…Gin & Tonic Lemon Heaven!