Lemon Curd
This lemon curd dessert is literally sunshine on a cloudy (winter) day 💫 It is light and bright and the perfect ending to our citrus themed dinner. We served it with the shortbread cookies we had already posted, only this time we added both ground and crystallized ginger to the cookies which perfectly accompanied the lemon curd.
Alice Waters’ Lemon Curd
(Serves 6+)
1 cup meyer lemon juice
Zest of two meyer lemons
4 eggs
6 egg yolks
1/4 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
12 Tablespoons salted butter, cut into small pieces
Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, milk and sugar together. Stir in the lemon juice, zest and buttter.
Cook the mixture is a heavy pan, whisking constantly over medium heat until Thich enough to coat a spoon. Do not boil or egg will curdle: when thick, pour into a bowl or glass jar to cool.
Cover and refrigerate. Make the day before serving 💫
Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon confectioners sugar
In a large bowl whip cream until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla and sugar. You can make this the morning before your dinner party, store in a glass mason jar in the fridge, and simply pour it into a glass bowl and whisk for a minute with a wire whisk before serving.
Ginger Shortbread
3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Tablespoon of cold water
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2/3 cup dried ginger, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
With a mixer, beat the flour and sugar together until combined. Add the vanilla, ground ginger and dried ginger.
In a separate bowl sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together.
Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough in a 1/2-inch thick disk.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Cool.
Can be made in advance and kept in the freezer for up to three months.
