Rayburn Lemon Flan

Serves 8

Ceramic flan dish

Pastry:

• 115g (4oz) plain flour
• 55g (2oz) butter, cold
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 egg yolk
• 1-2 tbsp lemon juice

Filling:

• 6 free range eggs, plus 1 egg white
• 225g (8oz) caster sugar
• 4 lemons, zest and juice
• 375ml (13 fl oz)double cream

Decoration:

• Whipped cream
• Crystallised violets or lemon slices

Place the flour, butter, icing sugar and the zest of the lemon into a food processor and whiz until the butter is rubbed in thoroughly. Add the egg yolk and enough lemon juice to form pastry dough. Roll out to line the flan dish and refrigerate for half and hour.

Whisk together the eggs, egg white, caster sugar and lemon zest until they are thoroughly mixed, then whisk in the cream and lemon juice. Pour into the pastry case.

2, 3 and 4 oven AGA: Carefully place the flan dish on the floor of the roasting oven, with the cold plain shelf on the fourth set of runners down. Cook for 20 minutes, turn once if necessary. The transfer to the floor of the simmering oven for 20-30 minutes until set.

Remove from the oven and cool. Decorate with swirls of whipped cream and crystallised violets or just use lemon slices.

Rayburn cooking: Bake on the floor of the main oven at 200°C (400°F), gas mark 6 for about 30 minutes, with the cold plain shelf on the second set of runners above. Halfway through cooking turn the dish and place a piece of foil loosely over the tart to protect it from over-browning.

Conventional cooking: Bake the pastry case blind for 20 minutes at 200°C (400°F) fan oven 180°C, gas mark 6. Pour in the filling and cook for a further 20 minutes at 160°C (325°F), fan oven 140°C, gas mark 3, until the filling is just set.