Lemon Caramel Pots De Crème Food

LEMON POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Begin boiling a large pot of water that will be used in your water bath. Place 6 4 oz. ramekins in a large roasting pan or baking dish with high sides.
• In a small saucepan, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 10-15 minutes; set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the cream and 1/4 cup of the sugar, and bring to just below boiling. Remove from the heat.
• In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar until smooth. Slowly whisk a ladleful of the hot cream into the yolks to temper then slowly/ gradually whisk the yolk mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the cream. Cook (still off heat) stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 170°F on an instant-read thermometer, 3 to 4 minutes until its thick.
• Stir in the reserved lemon syrup and vanilla extract. Strain immediately through cheesecloth or a fine sieve then divide the mixture evenly between the ramekins. (I strain mine into a very large pouring measuring cup so I can pour directly after straining - you could also use a pitcher.)
• Pour enough prepared boiling water into the roasting pan around the ramekins so it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Lay a long sheet of foil over the ramekins (no need to crimp edges) and bake 30-45 minutes - until the custards are set about ¼ inch from the sides but the center still jiggles. The center of the custards should register 150° to 155°F on an instant-read thermometer.
• Remove custards from oven and let them cool IN their water bath to room temperature. Remove from water bath, cover with plastic and refrigerate at least 8 hours, best if 24.
• Garnish with whipped cream and plenty of berries.

LEMON POT DE CREME

Steps:

• Place butter, sugar, lemon juice and 3 egg yolks in a double boiler; stir constantly with a stainless steel whisk or wooden spatula over medium heat until pudding turns very thick (if you drop some of the mixture onto the rest of the pudding in the pan it will form an unmoving ribbon on the surface); DON'T let mixture boil.
• Pour pudding into a bowl; stir in lemon zest and let it cool by placing the bottom of the bowl in cool water.
• Beat the egg white with a pinch of salt until stiff and glossy; gently fold into pudding and fill 4 pot de creme pots; place plastic wrap on surface of pudding in each cup and refrigerate until chilled.
• For an optional garnish, pipe a small rosette of whipped cream in the center of each pot and encircle the rosette with chopped pistachio nuts.

LEMON POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• In a mixing bowl, vigorously whisk the eggs, yolks, and sugar together.
• When the mixture is thoroughly blended, whisk in the lemon juice, then the cream.
• Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer.
• Add the lemon zest.
• Pour the mixture into 8 6-oz. custard cups or ramekins.
• Place them in a baking pan and add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cups.
• Cover the pan loosely with foil and bake until the custard is just set, 40 to 45 minutes. The custard should still be soft in the center when lightly shaken. (It will continue to set as it cools.).
• Remove from the baking pan and cool.

MILK CHOCOLATE AND LEMON POT DE CREME

Steps:

• To make the Pots de Creme: Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. In a food processor, grind sugar and zest for 1 to 2 minutes. Place the lemon sugar mixture in a pot. Add the milk and cream. Bring it to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat and add chocolate, stirring until dissolved. Place in an ice bath until chilled. Once cold add the egg yolks and lemon juice, mixing well. Strain the mixture. Portion it into ramekins and bake until set, for approximately 30 to 40 minutes. The texture will look like Jell-O in the center. Once cooked reserve in the refrigerator until ready to serve. To make the Candied Lemon: Place the zest in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, strain and cover again with cold water. Return to a boil and repeat the process once more. Place the zest in a pot with water and sugar and simmer gently for 15 to 25 minutes or until slightly translucent. Reserve in this liquid until ready to serve. This can be made up to 4 days ahead.
• To serve Pot de Creme: Place 1 to 2 teaspoons of Candied Zest on the middle of the Pot de Creme. Cover with Milk Chocolate shavings, and serve.

LEMON POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Stir together lemon juice, zest and sugar until sugar is dissolved. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and cream until blended. Stir in lemon juice mixture. Pour mixture into four 1/2 cup custard cups or ramekins.
• Place a rack in the insert of a large slow cooker, or crush a sheet of aluminum foil into a ring shape and place that on the bottom of the insert. Carefully place cups on the rack (if using foil, you may need to make two rings, one slightly smaller inside the other). Pour about 1 inch of hot water into the cooker, being careful not to splash water into the cups.
• Cover and cook on high for 2 hours, or until the creams are softly set and slightly jiggly in the center. Uncover and let stand for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the cups from the cooker, wearing sturdy rubber gloves so as not to burn your fingers.
• Cover and refrigerate until chilled, 2 hours, or up to 3 days, before serving.

CARAMEL POTS DE CRèME

Steps:

• Center a rack in oven, and heat to 300 degrees. Put 8 4-ounce custard cups or ramekins in a large roasting pan, and set aside. Combine cream and milk, and warm them in a microwave oven or on the stove top.
• Measure out 1/4 cup sugar, and set aside. Place a heavy-bottom metal pot over medium-high heat, and sprinkle in about 2 tablespoons sugar. As soon as sugar melts and starts to caramelize, stir. When color is uniform, stir in 2 more tablespoons sugar, and continue to stir until it is melted and colored. Continue with remaining sugar. When all sugar is mahogany color, stand away from pot, and stir in warm liquid bit by bit. Mixture will bubble furiously and may form lumps; stir to smooth it out. Remove from heat.
• Place yolks, eggs and reserved 1/4 cup sugar in a very large measuring cup with a lip, and whisk to blend. Still whisking, stir in caramel liquid. Skim off foam, and fill custard cups. Set into roasting pan and pour enough hot tap water into pan to come halfway up sides of cups. Cover pan with plastic wrap or foil, poke 2 holes in opposite corners, and bake 35 to 40 minutes or until tops darken and custards jiggle a little in center when tapped. Cool custards in refrigerator; serve at room temperature.

LEMON LIME POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
• Peel zest from the lemon and the lime with either a vegetable peeler or a paring knife, being careful to avoid the bitter white pith.
• Bring about 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan and add the zest(You are blanching the zest to make it a bit softer).
• Cook for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, juice the lemon and the lime.
• Discard the juiced rinds.
• Remove the peeled zest from the boiling water and place the zest in a blender(*Note: You are placing only the ZEST in the blender, NOT the water).
• Add remaining ingredients and blend on high for 5 minutes.
• Strain mixture through a fine sieve if you want a smooth texture, otherwise leave it and enjoy the super tiny bits of citrus rind in your custard.
• Fill 6 half cup ramekins 3/4 full with the custard mixture.
• Place ramekins on a baking pan and fill the pan with hot water to the level of the custard in the ramekins.
• Place the baking pan in the oven, carefully, and bake for 30-35 minutes until set.
• Remove ramekins from water bath and set on a rack to cool.
• Garnish with kiwi and/or strawberry, if desired.
• ***Please note: Based on Sheepie87's review, I want to clarify that you are not putting the blanching water in the blender, just the blanched pieces of zest(putting the hot water into the blender will certainly result in way too much liquid being present and the poor little custards will never ever set!) Also, you do not need to temper the eggs because they are blended in a cool/room temp liquid(the juices, milk and sugar mixture) and then baked(you only need to temper eggs that are going into a HOT liquid -- again, I need to emphasize that you are NOT using the hot water for anything other than blanching the zest.) Good luck and sorry for any confusion that the original wording may have caused. These really are nice light citrus custards that can be served warm or cool --- a little whipped cream and a sprig of mint and you're over the top! See the pics I posted to get an idea of the texture on the spoon and the look both cooked in the ramekin and plated. Thanks! (6/16/07).