I recently polled my Facebook page for ideas for summer recipes that are light and refreshing. I'm wonderful comments and meaning newly supplied with inspiration for me to get through the summer months. The general consensus was lots of summer fruits, berries and lemon, of course bright and refreshing!
I wanted to make pavlova again with a new twist, as it is in my opinion one of the lightest and most beautiful desserts there. I had a vision of soft and airy meringue pie with crispy cheese with lemon and soft whipped cream- who looked a bit like the best part of lemon meringue pie with no crust. I remember the Berry Pavlova I did last year being so light that I ate almost everything myself. I remedied by breaking it into smaller portions. 6 desserts that are perfectly sized so light and bright they shout nothing but summer.
Another thing I like about this recipe is that it's not a waste. I can easily freeze any egg whites I have leftover yellow-heavy recipes but yolks are often wasted because they do not keep well and are less easy to just throw in your omelet. (PS-extra yolks in the scrambled eggs are not tasty in my opinion!) This recipe uses whole eggs 4 for 4 white meringue and 4 for the curd lemon. I love this kind of cooking logic! :)
PS I do not know about your neck of the woods, but NYC yesterday had the most glorious time. I woke up feeling so bright and sunny which is what inspired me to do this. Do you like when your kitchen projects reflect your mood? :)
- 4 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
- Zest of 2 lemons
- ½ cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- butter cut 6 tablespoons unsalted pieces
- 4 egg whites
- granulated sugar 1 cup *
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vinegar white vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon.
- 1 cup whipping cream
- ½ extract teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon tablespoons powdered sugar
- in a small saucepan, combine the egg yolks, lemon juice and zest, salt and sugar. Whisk together, then cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 5-7 minutes, until the mixture thickens and can coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and add the butter, one piece at a time.
- Pour curd in a fine mesh screen, stretched on pieces or large pieces of peel. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap placed directly on the surface and refrigerate until cool completely
- Preheat oven to 275F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper biscuits. (If you wish,) trace 6- 3 inch circles spaced equally between the sheet and return the parchment so writing is facing down.
- Place the egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a (clean) whip attachment. High average speed whisk until soft peaks. Let the machine continues to run when you gradually add the sugar one tablespoon at a time. Continue beating, increasing the high speed if necessary, until stiff glossy peaks are formed.
- Sprinkle cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla to the meringue and fold gently to combine in.
- now, gently spread the meringue in circles on parchment for making circular bases. Make sure the edges of the meringue are slightly higher than the center so you have a very small well in the middle.
- Bake for about 40-55 minutes, or until the meringue towers are a pale pink eggshell type color. Turn off the oven and leave the door slightly ajar to let the meringues cool completely. As the meringue cools, it will crack slightly
- Whip the heavy cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add vanilla and sugar and continue beating until you get stiff peaks
- Top each round cooled meringue with a big dollop of lemon cream and spread to the edges. Add a large dollop of whipped cream. Enjoy
Lemon Curd Recipe adapted from: Martha Stewart