Maids of Honour Tarts vs Eierkuchen (German Pancakes)

Both desserts lean on butter and sugar, yet they put them to very different work. In the Maids of Honour tarts, cold butter is rubbed into flour for a shortcrust pastry baked until golden brown, while the sugar sweetens a filling of ricotta, ground almonds, egg yolk and lemon zest that bakes until set and firm. Eierkuchen instead uses butter to fry a thin, rested batter of milk, eggs and flour, giving tender pancakes with slightly crisp edges. The result is a rich, nutty, lemon-scented tart against a light, eggy pancake finished with a dusting of sugar.