madebyjade

Grandmothers are legends – and from them we inherit legend recipes. This lemon tart is much like my ouma Awe (pronounced A-wwwie, with the kind of friction in your throat an Afrikaans ‘w’ would make) – a twist on the traditional, utterly unforgettable, and clever – on top of all that! In memory of my ouma Awe from Brandfort, a town in the Free State.

For one piece of Ouma’s inheritance:

One packet of Tennis – of Marie biscuits

150g butter

1 tin Condensed milk

2 eggs

4 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 T castor sugar

How to go about using the inheritance:

Firstly, turn in your oven on 200 degrees Celsius. Put your biscuits in a sealable bag (for example a large ziplock bag), let all the air go out and seal it. Using a roller pin or empty wine bottle, roll over the biscuits and crush them into very fine crumbs. Next melt the butter in the microwave for about 1 minute on high or in a small pan. Shake the biscuit crumbs into a medium-sized bowl and add the melted butter, then stir to combine well. Take out your tart tin, or any dish similar, and pour roughly 3/4 of the mixture into the tin. Now -hands on – press! Spread it out so that it builds up out to the sides, but keep a good base as well. All-in-all try to get some all over, as even as possible. Place it in the fridge to set a bit.

Pour the condensed milk into a bowl. Next take out a smaller spotless bowl of stainless steel, and separate your 2 eggs, the whites in the stainless steel bowl and the yolks in with the condensed milk. How to separate? Crack the egg carefully in the middle against the side of a bowl, while holding it in your hand. Keep the stainless steel bowl under you and using both hands, carefully open the egg and let the white slide down into the bowl. Next slide the yolk, keeping it whole, in your one hand and let the white run through your slightly open fingers. Place the yolks in with the condensed milk. Don’t let the yellow spoil the whites’ complexion – it will make it incapable of becoming stiff! Using an electric whisk (using your hand and a whisk is extremely labour-intensive, tried and tested!) whisk the egg whites until turn white-white and can hold soft peaks – when you lift up the whisk, it stays. Add the castor sugar and whisk another round. Next swop your bowl for the condensed milk and yolks and whisk well until it is well combined. Keep going and add the lemon juice a bit at a time. Take out a metal spoon (to keep the air) and fold in the egg whites with the other mixture in circular, voluptuous movements until no white streak remains. Spoon this out into the tart base. For the final touch, sprinkle the remaining quarter of the biscuit crumbs on the top. Bake it in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. It is ready when the top has coloured to caramel slightly and you can smell it. You will not believe how good this is!