Add some zest to your life with these recipes for making lemon biscuits, icing and a torte.
Last summer we featured four lemon recipes from Aunt Kate but delving further into her 1933 Baking Book we’ve found even more for avid bakers to get stuck into.
Aunt Kate, if you weren’t already aware, was a pseudonym for some writers who wrote recipes and household tips for the People’s Journal and the People’s Friend from the 1880s to the 1960s. Thought latterly to have been mostly curated by a lady called Flora Scrymgeour, several recipe books under the pseudonym were created.
As these recipes are from the 1930s, many use measurements and temperatures that have changed in recent times. We’ve tried where possible to convert these to today’s units but some may differ.
For more inspiration, take a look at previous recipes in this series here.
Lemon torte
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 7/8 cup flour
- 1/8 cup cornflour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ cup milk
- 2/3 cup blanched, sliced almonds
Method
- Cream the butter, adding sugar gradually, work in beaten egg yolks and vanilla, then flour, cornflour and baking powder sifted together alternately with milk.
- Spread the mixture in two shallow layer cake pans, cover with meringue made by stiffly beating egg whites and working them into an additional ¾ cup of sugar while beating.
- Sprinkle with shredded almonds, bake for 45 mins in a cool oven (approx 100C).
- When cold, put the layers together with the lemon cheese filling (below).
Lemon cheese filling
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 lemons
- 2 tbsp water
- 1½ tbsp cornflour
- 2 eggs
Method
- Heat the butter, sugar, grated ring and strained juice of the lemons in a double boiler.
- Add the cornflour, moistened with cold water, then blended with the beaten eggs.
- Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring all the time; then cool.
- Can be used for both tarts and cakes.
Lemon spiced biscuits
Ingredients
- ¼ lb butter
- ½ lb flour
- 3 oz caster sugar
- A pinch of ginger
- A pinch of mixed spice
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 egg
- Lemon curd
Method
- Rub the butter into the flour until as fine as breadcrumbs. Then add the caster sugar and spices, mixing them well in.
- Add three-quarters of the beaten egg and mix to a stiff dough.
- Then roll out thinly, cut into rounds with a plain cutter and brush over with the remainder of the beaten egg.
- Bake on a greased tin in a moderate oven (approx 180-190C) for 20 minutes.
- When cold, put two together with a little lemon curd, then ice with your desired icing.
More in this series…
Aunt Kate’s Kitchen: Old-fashioned roll recipes that will work a treat today
