All knowledge is contained on...?

[tree_and_leaf]

Anyone have any brilliant ideas/ recipes for a pudding involving lemons which would be suitable for six people in hot weather, preferably one which can be made in advance?

I have a freezer, but no ice-cream maker.

Comments

[oursin]

Lemon syllabub?

[quillori]

I see you around on LJ friends' friends and DW network, and I'm making a concerted effort to friend people rather than lurking silently in the shadows, as is my wont. I always feel a little presumptuous just turning up in the journal of someone I don't know, but on the other hand, how else is one to get to know people? Anyway, there's something innately friendly in discussing food, so this seems like a good time to say hello.

Unfortunately, while I can easily do you winter lemon desserts (Sussex Pond Pudding, mmm) and summer orange or lime desserts, I'm having a hard time with summer lemon. I'd suggest lemon basil sorbet, but I've never made it without an ice-cream maker. Lemon curd tart? Lemon curd fool? I have a nice recipe for lemon fritters, but they need to be made just as they're to be eaten. Maybe lemon meringue pie? A lemon souffle (I mean the cold sort set with gelatine and refrigerated, not the hot, risen sort)? Baked lemon cheesecake? Lemon yoghurt cake (probably too filling for dessert)? Lemon Delicious Pudding (again, maybe a bit too filling)? (If you want a specific recipe for any of these, just ask.)

OK, consulting my recipe books (look, I've got to find some justification for the number of them I buy):

Lemon and Bay Leaf Creme Brulee
Add 6 pieces of lemon rind, 4 or 5 bay leaves and a vanilla bean to 3 cups cream, simmer over low heat for 3 minutes, let stand for 20 minutes. Add 7 or 8 yolks (depending on size) and a 1/2 cup sugar. Stir over low heat till you can coat the back of a spoon. Remove vanilla bean, rind and bay leaves. Pour into 6 1/2 cup capacity ramekins and place them in a baking dish filled with enough water to come half way up their sides. Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 20 minutes or till just set. Remove and refrigerate till cold (about an hour). Sprinkle tops with sugar and set to with a kitchen blowtorch, or put them in a baking tray filled with ice cubes and stick under a hot grill for about a minute.

Cherry and Lemon Dessert
Make a cherry compote (preferably flavoured with nice things such as kirsch and brandy). Whip 3/4 cup cream to very soft peaks and, using the finest grater you have, grate in the peel of 1 1/2 lemons. Sweeten with a little sugar to taste. Leave cream to stand for a while (a couple of hours if possible). Crush 5 Italian macaroons and sprinkle them in the bottom of 6 dessert glasses. Spoon in the cherry compote and top with the lemon cream.

Lemon Mousse
finely grated zest from 4 large or 5 small lemons, 90 ml lemon juice, 280 g caster sugar, 6 eggs (separated), 225 g unsalted butter cut into small pieces
Put the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar and egg yolks in a double boiler and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for about 10 minutes, until you can coat the back of a spoon. Whisk in small amounts of butter at a time. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Whisk the egg whites until you have stiff peaks. Fold half of the beaten whites into the lemon mixture with a metal spoon, then fold in the remaining half. Divid into 6 glasses and refrigerate till firm.

Lemon Trifle
Take as your base 8 boudoir/sponge finger biscuits and 8 macaroons. Sprinkle with 16 tablespoons medium sweet white wine. Make a lemon cream with a 1/2 pint water, 4 oz sugar, grated rind of 1 lemon and a little of it's juice, 2 egg yolks (reserving the whites), 1 oz butter and a dessertspoon of cornflour (moistened with a little lemon juice) - bring it to the boil and pour into your trifle dish as soon as it has cooled enough not to crack it. Leave it to go cold, then top with a meringue made from the 2 egg whites, 110g castor sugar and 140g double cream. (This recipe veers from Imperial to metric because it's a modern emendation of May Byron's 1923 original recipe - I found it in a delightful little monograph on trifles put out by The English Kitchen. I include it here more for interest than because I'd quite recommend trying it out for the first time on guests.)