Summers Star Ingredient – 3 delicious recipes using limes

This summer has been the season of the lime for me they have been my summer star ingredient. The colours so bright, vivid and enticing. The smell of a freshly cut lime makes me salivate, it instantly conjures images in my head of clean and refreshing temple achingly cold drinks, so cold that condensation trickles down the side of the glass. Everything from a wedge in the neck of a bottle of a cold beer, to flavouring water in the fridge, to cutting the richness of a meal and in my favourite capacity with something sweet. I think in part that the reason I love lime and sweet things together is that they remind me of those hard-boiled lime sweets with the chocolate centre a favourite of mines as a child.  I never thought that any other citrus fruit would over take lemons in my kitchen, this summer exactly that happened.  I just can’t get enough of them.

Below are three of my favourite lime recipes. What are your favourite lime recipes?

A light and spongy cake with a zingy and refreshing yoghurt topping. This cake is simple and straightforward as it's only one layer and the topping is a simple yoghurt and lime mixture that is no more strenuous than mixing a few ingredients together.

yoghurt and lime cake

Yields8 Servings

Cake
 180 g Plain flour
 20 g Ground almonds
 1 tsp Baking powder
 ½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
 ¼ tsp Fine sea salt
 120 ml Vegetable oil
 120 g Greek yoghurt
 2 Eggs
 200 g Caster sugar
 2 Limes (zest of both & 1 1/2 tbsp juice)
Yoghurt Topping
 150 g Greek yoghurt
 1 Lime (Zest & 1 tbsp Juice)
 45 g Icing sugar

1

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line the base of a 7" loose bottomed cake tin with baking parchment. Combine flour, ground almonds, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt together. Give a quick mix to evenly disperse ingredients.

2

In another bowl or measuring jug, combine oil, yoghurt, eggs, caster sugar, lime zest and juice. whisk together and then combine with dry ingredients.

3

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 35 - 40 minutes in the preheated oven. Test cake is fully cooked by inserting a skewer if it comes out clean cake is ready.

4

Remove to a wire rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completly.

5

When cake has cooled, combine all the ingredients for the yoghurt topping and mix together until glossy and smooth with a spatula.

6

Pour the topping onto the cooled cake, spread to the edges with a spatula.

Ingredients

Cake
 180 g Plain flour
 20 g Ground almonds
 1 tsp Baking powder
 ½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
 ¼ tsp Fine sea salt
 120 ml Vegetable oil
 120 g Greek yoghurt
 2 Eggs
 200 g Caster sugar
 2 Limes (zest of both & 1 1/2 tbsp juice)
Yoghurt Topping
 150 g Greek yoghurt
 1 Lime (Zest & 1 tbsp Juice)
 45 g Icing sugar

Directions

1

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line the base of a 7" loose bottomed cake tin with baking parchment. Combine flour, ground almonds, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt together. Give a quick mix to evenly disperse ingredients.

2

In another bowl or measuring jug, combine oil, yoghurt, eggs, caster sugar, lime zest and juice. whisk together and then combine with dry ingredients.

3

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 35 - 40 minutes in the preheated oven. Test cake is fully cooked by inserting a skewer if it comes out clean cake is ready.

4

Remove to a wire rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completly.

5

When cake has cooled, combine all the ingredients for the yoghurt topping and mix together until glossy and smooth with a spatula.

6

Pour the topping onto the cooled cake, spread to the edges with a spatula.

Yoghurt & Lime Cake

Yields8 Servings

 250 g Digestive biscuits
 100 g Butter
 600 g Cream cheese
 250 ml Double cream
 75 g Icing sugar
 1 Orange (zested)
 1 tbsp Tequila
Lime Curd
 100 ml Water
 2 Lime (zest of 1, juice of 2)
 75 g Caster sugar
 2 tsp Corn flour
 25 Butter
 2 Egg yolks
 1 pinch Sea salt flakes

1

Break the biscuits into a food processor and blitz until fine crumbs. You can do this by hand in bag just pulverize with a rolling pin until fine crumbs are achieved. Melt the butter and pour into the food processor with the motor running until the mixture begins to clump.

2

Press the mixture into a 22cm spinform cake tin with knuckles. or the back of a tablespoon until smooth and flat. Place in the fridge while you get on with the filling & topping.

3

Add cream cheese, cream, icing sugar, orange zest and tequila to a large bowl and using an electric mixture, mix until it reaches a softly whipped cream texture.

4

Add this almost moussy filling on top of the biscuit. Smooth the top. Return to the fridge whilst you make the curd. If making the day before cling the cake tin and leave until just before serving to add the curd.

5

To prepare the curd add water, lime zest and juice, sugar and corn flour to a saucepan and whisk together on the hob until a thick almost wallpaper like mixture is achieved. Turn off heat and quickly whisk in butter and egg yolks. Pour the mixture into a bowl and allow to cool.

6

When cheesecake has set and curd cooled and thickened. Pour over the cheesecake in it's tin ans smooth out. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes. When ready to eat unclip tin and slice into 8 slices.

Ingredients

 250 g Digestive biscuits
 100 g Butter
 600 g Cream cheese
 250 ml Double cream
 75 g Icing sugar
 1 Orange (zested)
 1 tbsp Tequila
Lime Curd
 100 ml Water
 2 Lime (zest of 1, juice of 2)
 75 g Caster sugar
 2 tsp Corn flour
 25 Butter
 2 Egg yolks
 1 pinch Sea salt flakes

Directions

1

Break the biscuits into a food processor and blitz until fine crumbs. You can do this by hand in bag just pulverize with a rolling pin until fine crumbs are achieved. Melt the butter and pour into the food processor with the motor running until the mixture begins to clump.

2

Press the mixture into a 22cm spinform cake tin with knuckles. or the back of a tablespoon until smooth and flat. Place in the fridge while you get on with the filling & topping.

3

Add cream cheese, cream, icing sugar, orange zest and tequila to a large bowl and using an electric mixture, mix until it reaches a softly whipped cream texture.

4

Add this almost moussy filling on top of the biscuit. Smooth the top. Return to the fridge whilst you make the curd. If making the day before cling the cake tin and leave until just before serving to add the curd.

5

To prepare the curd add water, lime zest and juice, sugar and corn flour to a saucepan and whisk together on the hob until a thick almost wallpaper like mixture is achieved. Turn off heat and quickly whisk in butter and egg yolks. Pour the mixture into a bowl and allow to cool.

6

When cheesecake has set and curd cooled and thickened. Pour over the cheesecake in it's tin ans smooth out. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes. When ready to eat unclip tin and slice into 8 slices.

Margarita Cheesecake

A refreshing and vibrant salad. Halloumi has a rubbery salty consistency when heated and browned in a dry frying pan it turns it into what I think of as vegetarian bacon. The combination of rocket, mint leaves, and pomegranate seeds give you a peppery refreshing salad with bursts of fruitiness.

Halloumi, Mint & Pomegranate Salad

Yields2 Servings

 225 g halloumi
 ½ pomegranate
 3 sprig mint
 70 g rocket
 3 tbsp cold pressed rapeseed oil
 1 tbsp Red wine vinegar
 2 tsp maple syrup
 1 tsp Dijon mustard
 1 pinch sea salt flakes

1

Heat a dry non-stick pan. Slice the halloumi into 1cm thick slices. Cook for about one minute aside in the dry pan or until browned on each side. Once browned set aside.

2

Cut pomegranate in half and hold over a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until the seeds fall out.

3

Make the dressing in a small bowl or jar with lid by combing oil, vinegar, maple syrup, mustard and sea salt and squeeze the shell of the pomegranate so that it omits any juices and seeds still within. Stir well/shake to combine.

4

In a large bowl toss the rocket and mint leaves together with a little of the dressing. Divide the leaves between two plates. Top the leaves with the fried halloumi and scatter with the pomegranate seeds add a little more dressing if you feel it needs it.

Ingredients

 225 g halloumi
 ½ pomegranate
 3 sprig mint
 70 g rocket
 3 tbsp cold pressed rapeseed oil
 1 tbsp Red wine vinegar
 2 tsp maple syrup
 1 tsp Dijon mustard
 1 pinch sea salt flakes

Directions

1

Heat a dry non-stick pan. Slice the halloumi into 1cm thick slices. Cook for about one minute aside in the dry pan or until browned on each side. Once browned set aside.

2

Cut pomegranate in half and hold over a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until the seeds fall out.

3

Make the dressing in a small bowl or jar with lid by combing oil, vinegar, maple syrup, mustard and sea salt and squeeze the shell of the pomegranate so that it omits any juices and seeds still within. Stir well/shake to combine.

4

In a large bowl toss the rocket and mint leaves together with a little of the dressing. Divide the leaves between two plates. Top the leaves with the fried halloumi and scatter with the pomegranate seeds add a little more dressing if you feel it needs it.

Halloumi, Mint & Pomegranate Salad

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