Lemon Cream

It may seem an overload of lemon right now (I have an overload of lemon's on my tree currently), but lemon cream is worth it. You can use it in all the same ways you use lemon curd (I actually prefer lemon cream in pie). But the taste is different. The lemon flavor is more pronounced and it is a little more tart. Because it is whipped it has a lighter texture and the volume of the recipe is quite a bit more than the lemon curd. Try them both and decide which one you like the best. You will probably like curd for some dishes and cream for others. I prefer lemon curd as a filling for cakes and lemon cream for pies. I've also made this with lime and the taste is fantastic.

 Lemon cream is a little more labor intensive to make than lemon curd but don't let that discourage you. The original recipe said that temperature of the cream needed to rise to 180. Try as I might I have not been able to get my cream to 180. The temperature quickly rises to about 170 and then hovers there. I kept whisking for another 20 minutes but the temperature didn't go up. I finally gave up and took it off the heat. It didn't matter. The cream was perfect. Now I just let the temperature go up until it levels off at about 172 and I call it good. It still turns out fantastic in the end.

Lemon Cream
Recipe adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
grated zest of 3 lemons
4 eggs
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons butter cut into tablespoon size pieces at room temperature

Tools you will need

strainer
blender or food processor
instant read thermometer
saucepan
heat proof bowl large enough to fit all your ingredients so you can whisk them with out it spilling everywhere

Fill your saucepan with water so that the water level will be just below the bowl when the bowl is set in the saucepan.  Bring the water to a simmer.  While water is heating combine sugar and zest in the heatproof bowl.  Rub the mixture with your fingers so the zest doesn't clump.  Whisk in the eggs and then whisk in the lemon juice.

Set the bowl over the saucepan of simmering water.  Cook the cream, whisking constantly, until the temperature reaches at least 170 (or 180 if you can get it that high).  It will start out foamy, but will thicken as the temperature rises.  When the temperature reaches 180 (or stops going up), remove the cream from the heat and strain into a blender.  Discard the zest left in the strainer.  Let the cream in the blender cool to about 140 (it should take about 10 minutes).

Turn the blender to high and while it is running add butter about 5 pieces at a time.  After the butter is all mixed in blend for three minutes to get it light and airy.  If your blender motor can not handle 3 minutes, blend in one minutes increments resting in between.

Pour the cream into a container, cover the surface with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 4 hours.  Before using the lemon cream stir with a whisk a few times to keep it light and loose. Pin It