Lemon curd parfait.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018
This astronomical Easter [1], I found myself falling in love with lemon curd. Well, actually, I’ve been reading about at lemon curd recipes for some months now, how to make variations of it, and how to use it further in other recipes. I remember that in 2012, I had tried my hand at lemon custard cupcakes. The lemon custard recipe I used then was alright, but not something to totally fall in love with, especially if you are a fan of kaya, the Southeast-Asian screwpine/pandan leaf coconut marmalade found most notably in Singapore and Malaysia. Yesterday, I came across what looked like the perfect lemon curd recipe published by ChefSteps in 2014 [2], made sous vide. I had to give it a try, albeit sans sous vide.
The ratio of ingredients by ChefSteps for their lemon curd is nothing short of perfect. I think I used about 3g or so more gelatin than recommended and my lemon custard turned out slightly firmer than what was shown in their video. The flavour of this lemon curd is absolutely sinful! It’s egg-yolk rich, buttery and citrusy with a melt in mouth texture. If kept in the refrigerator overnight, it can be slightly warmed and melted before using it on ice-creams, biscuits and in making lemon mousse. I tried a generous dollop of it together with a digestive biscuit. It was an addictive blend of flavours, and knew I could never do it again if I didn’t want to accept the consequences. Imagine this lemon curd on a chocolate digestive! Why would anyone want a creme egg conconction for Easter after this?
This parfait is made by soaking polenta sugarcake (a variation of the walnut polenta bread) in lemon curd, topped with lemon mousse. The mousse is made by taking part of the lemon curd and whisking it together with whipping cream and egg white. The lemon mousse is then topped with more lemon curd and drizzled over with crushed digestive biscuits.
All left to do is to brew that cup of coffee for a little luxury of a påsk fikastund (Easter coffeebreak).
My fall in love at astronomical Easter recipe. The perfect ratio of ingredients for this homemade lemon curd comes from ChefSteps (2014). It’s lusciously thick, with a melt in mouth consistency.
In this parfait, I used a basic polenta sugarcake to nestle and soak in the lemon custard. Polenta is one of my favourite to bake with, I’ve used it in both cupcakes and breads.
Polenta sugarcake soaking in lemon curd.
Lemon curd with digestive biscuits. Absolutely addictive.
This video by ChefSteps (2014) on how to make lemon curd has a star recipe.
Lemon curd ingredients by ChefSteps (2014)
4 Lemons (10g lemond rind, 150ml lemon juice)
200g Butter
175g Sugar
120g Egg yolks (about 8)
13g Gelatin (bloomed)
5g Citric acid
1g Salt
Polenta lemon cake using lemon curd
3 dl polenta
3 dl flour
2.5 dl sugar
1 dl lemon curd
200g melted butter
5 eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of sea salt
Method
Soak polenta in melted butter ca. 10 minutes. Add pinch of sea salt to soaking polenta. Beat raw sugar and eggs till eggs are dissolved. Add lemon curd. Sift in flour, baking powder, alternating with soaked polenta. Add vanilla essence. Mix till combined. Pour into buttered and dusted tin. Bake at 175degC for ca. 45 minutes or till cake tester comes out clean.
Lemon sorbet using lemon curd
2 egg whites, whisked
1 dl raw sugar
1 tsp cream of tartar / vinsyra
1 tsp confectioners sugar / florsocker
1.5 dl lemon curd (version sans butter)
Method
Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar, sugar, florsocker. Add in lemon curd (version sans butter) last. Pour in container, freeze. This makes a lemon sorbet that is smooth to serve, well rounded in flavour.
References
[1] Rao, J. (2017). The full moon that determines Easter, Space.com, Skywatching, 14 April 2017. Internet resource at https://bit.ly/2pYtDEQ. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
[2] ChefSteps (2014). Lemon curd. Internet resource at https://bit.ly/2t9rxXb (website) and https://youtu.be/tFMw_oRueqc (YouTube). Retrieved 2 April 2018.