Lemon Meringue 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 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.

THE BEST LEMON MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• For the pie crust: Pulse the flour, shortening, sugar, salt and vinegar in a food processor until the mixture looks like damp sand, about 10 pulses. Add the butter and pulse until you can still see large pea-sized pieces. Sprinkle in 3 tablespoons ice water and pulse until the dough begins to come together. Pinch the dough; if it doesn't hold together, add up to 3 more tablespoons ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together when pinched. Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap and dump the dough onto the plastic. Using the edges of the plastic, press the dough into a disc. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and preferably overnight. (Freeze up to 2 months.)
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 13-inch round. Place in a 9-inch pie dish, gently pressing the dough into the edges and letting the excess dough drape over the sides. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Trim any excess dough with a paring knife and crimp the edges decoratively or press them down with the tines of a fork. Prick the dough on the bottom all over with a fork. Place a sheet of parchment paper inside the dough and fill with pie weights or uncooked rice or beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment and weights and bake until the crust is deep golden brown on the edges and lightly golden in the center, 10 to 12 minutes more. Let the crust cool to room temperature.
• For the filling: Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Add the lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups water and whisk to combine. Whisk the egg yolks in a separate medium bowl. Place the sugar mixture over medium heat and cook, continuing to gently whisk, until the mixture begins to bubble and is extremely thick. Temper the eggs yolks by slowly adding half of the hot sugar mixture to the yolks while constantly whisking. Add the tempered yolks to the saucepan and return to the heat. Bring the mixture back to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and lemon zest until completely melted and incorporated. Pour the filling directly into the pie crust and cover with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface of the filling (see Cook's Note). Refrigerate while you make the meringue.
• For the meringue: Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment along with the sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Whisk together to combine. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture feels hot to the touch. Transfer the bowl to the mixer and add the vanilla. Whisk on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Remove the plastic wrap from the pie and gently mound the meringue on top of the filling. Use an offset spatula to make sure the meringue completely covers the filling and meets the crust all around the edges. (This will seal in the filling and help prevent weeping.) Use the offset spatula to create swirls and peaks in the meringue. Toast the meringue using a kitchen torch or broil in the oven until golden brown, keeping an eye on the meringue if broiling, 1 to 2 minutes. Refrigerate the pie until the filling is completely cool and set, about 4 hours.

LEMON CREAM MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• To make the filling, combine milk and sugar in a nonreactive saucepan, preferably enameled iron. Strip the zest from the lemons with a sharp vegetable peeler, making sure you remove the yellow zest but none of the white pith beneath. If you do remove some of the white pith, scrape it off the strips of zest with the point of a paring knife and discard it. Add the zest to the milk and sugar and bring to a simmer over low heat. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 5 minutes; remove the strips of zest with a slotted spoon or skimmer and discard them.
• Squeeze lemons to make 1/2 cup strained juice. Place juice in a mixing bowl and whisk in cornstarch, then yolks.
• Return milk and sugar mixture to a boil over low heat and whisk about a third of the boiling milk into the lemon juice mixture. Return remaining milk and sugar mixture to a boil once more and whisk the lemon juice and yolk mixture back into it, whisking constantly until the filling comes to a boil and thickens. Allow to boil, whisking constantly, for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, whisk in butter and pour into a nonreactive bowl. Press plastic wrap against the surface of the filling and chill until it is approximately 75 degrees. (If you prepare the filling in advance, let it come to room temperature before proceeding.)
• Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Roll out the dough to make bottom crust and arrange in pan. Chill crust until firm.
• To bake the crust, pierce it all over with the tines of a fork at 1/2inch intervals. Line it with a disk of parchment or waxed paper and fill with cherry stones or dried beans. Bake about 20 minutes, until lightly colored. Remove paper and beans and continue baking until the crust is a deep golden brown. Cool crust on a rack.
• Spread the cooled filling evenly in the cooled crust.
• Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
• To make the meringue bring a small pan of water to a boil. Lower heat so that water simmers. Combine egg whites, sugar and salt in the bowl of the mixer or if you are using a hand whisk another heatproof bowl. Place bowl over pan of simmering water and whisk gently for about 2 minutes, until egg whites are hot (about 140 degrees) and sugar has dis solved. Whip meringue on medium speed until it has cooled and is able to hold a shape, but it should not be dry. Distribute spoonfuls of the meringue all over the top of the pie, then use the back of a spoon or a small offset metal spatula to spread the meringue evenly. It should cover the top of the pie and touch the edges of the crust all around. Here and there, bring up the surface of the meringue so that it is swirled. Place the pie on a cookie sheet and bake for about 5 to 10 minutes, until the meringue is colored evenly. Cool on a rack.

LEMON POTS DE CRèME

Steps:

• Set 4 (4 oz.) ramekins in a large baking pan. Bring a kettle of water to boil. Heat the oven to 325°F.
• Combine the egg yolks, lemon zest, and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a medium bowl. Combine the milk, cream, salt, and remaining sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Slowly and gradually whisk the warm cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Divide among the ramekins.
• Set the baking pan in the oven. Pour boiling water into the baking pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan with foil.
• Bake the custards until they are set around the edges but still jiggle a bit in the center, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool to room temperature, then transfer the ramekins to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours. To serve, top with whipped cream and blueberries if desired.

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.

LEMON MERINGUE POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Heat H&H to just under a boil. In mixing bowl combine egg yolks, 3/4 c sugar. cornstarch and salt. Whisk 1-2 mins. Slowly whisk 1/2 c of hot H&H into egg mixture. Add remaining half and mix well. Pour back intro saucepan, cook over med heat until thick, about 5 mins. Remove from heat, whisk in butter, lemon z&j. Spoon into 6 4oz ramekins. Cover with saran wrap and refrig at least 2 hrs (up to a day). Combine nuts with 1TB sugar. Heat oven to 350. Put egg whites into mix bowl, add remaining 3TB sugar. Beat to stiff peaks. Spoon onto ramekins, sprinkle pistachio mixture on top. Bake 10-15 mins until tops are browned. Bake before guests arrive then keep at room temp for dessert.

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.