MEASURING WITH CUBES RECIPES

Steps:

• Put a martini or coupe glass in the fridge to chill.
• Pour 50ml of the lime syrup (see recipe, below) or cordial into a jug or tall glass and add a few ice cubes and the gin. Stir until the outside of the container feels very cold.
• Strain the mixture into your chilled glass and garnish with a slice of lime and an edible flower.
• For the homemade lime syrup, put the lime zest into a saucepan. Squeeze the juice from both limes into a measuring jug – stop when you get to about 60ml, then top it up with water so you have 100ml of liquid in total. Pour this into your pan with the caster sugar. Heat very gently, stirring occasionally just until the sugar has dissolved, but don’t let it boil. Strain the mixture into a heatproof jug and leave to cool. Makes 280-300ml. Lasts up to two weeks.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. To make the pastry, put the flour in a food processor along with the salt and icing sugar. Blitz to combine. Add the butter and pulse in short bursts until it's the texture of fine breadcrumbs. Mix 4 tbsp cold water with the beaten eggs and drizzle into the mixture, then quickly pulse to combine. Tip out the crumbly mixture onto a work surface, then form into a puck, cover and chill for 30 mins.
• Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to around 25cm, and to the thickness of a £1 coin. Line a 20cm fluted tart tin with the pastry, leaving the pastry to overhang. Add a large disc of baking parchment big enough to cover the edges, and some baking beans to weigh it down (use dried rice or lentils if you don’t have baking beans). Bake for 15 mins, then remove the parchment and beans and bake for a further 7-10 mins or until the bottom is evenly cooked. Trim off any overhanging pastry with a serrated knife.
• For the filling, beat the butter and sugar until combined. Add the ground almonds, almond extract and eggs and beat for a further minute. Spread the jam over the pastry, then top with the almond filling. Scatter over the flaked almonds and bake for 25-30 mins until golden and firm. Leave to cool in the tin (or eat warm at this stage and leave out step 4).
• Mix together the icing sugar and 1-2 tsp water and drizzle over the tart. Slice and serve with cream or custard, if you like.