Lemon Semifreddo With Meringues Food

LEMON MERINGUE SEMIFREDDI

Steps:

• Make the crusts: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Spread mixture evenly in a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool.
• Press 3 tablespoons graham mixture firmly into eight 6-ounce glasses. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Make the curd: Prepare an ice-water bath. Whisk eggs, 3 yolks, and 1/2 cup sugar in a medium bowl; discard remaining yolk, or reserve for another use. Add lemon zest and juice, and salt. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water, and cook, whisking occasionally, until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter. Strain through a sieve into a medium bowl, then set in ice-water bath, stirring often, until cold.
• Bring corn syrup, water, and remaining 3/4 cup sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook, undisturbed, until syrup registers 248 degrees on a candy thermometer. Wash sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming.
• Meanwhile, whisk 4 whites with a mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Reduce speed to low, and pour hot syrup down side of bowl in a slow, steady stream. Increase speed to high, and whisk until stiff peaks form and mixture is no longer steaming, about 3 minutes. Add a third of meringue to chilled lemon curd, and whisk until smooth. Fold in remaining meringue in 2 additions.
• Transfer lemon mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a 1-inch plain round tip. Pipe on top of graham cracker crust, filling to rim. Freeze until filling firms slightly, about 1 hour. Spoon Italian meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a 1-inch round plain tip, and pipe into each glass, covering evenly and swirling into a peak.
• Hold a small handheld kitchen torch at a 90-degree angle 3 to 4 inches from surface of meringue. Move flame back and forth until meringue starts to brown. Alternatively, heat oven to 500 degrees. Place glasses on a baking sheet, and bake on top rack until meringue begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

LEMON SEMIFREDDO WITH MERINGUES

Steps:

• Prepare the mixture
• PREPARE THE MIXTURE - Firstly whip the cream, which must be very cold, until the mixture is very firm, then store in the fridge. In a glass or ceramic bowl, beat the egg yolks with 1 cup of caster sugar. When the eggs are well beaten add the juice and grated rind of 2 lemons, and the whipped cream. Blend everything until the mixture is smooth.
• SEMIFREDDO - Pour the mixture, alternating it with ¼ lb of crushed meringues in a mold of at least 44 oz, then place in the freezer for at least 3 hours. After this time, immerse the mold in warm water for 10-15 seconds, pass the blade of a knife around the perimeter of the semifreddo and tip on a cooking surface lined with baking paper. Now, quickly garnish the semifreddo with the remaining 5 oz of crushed meringues and place the dessert in the freezer for at least another hour. If, during the process of garnishing the semifreddo, it melts excessively, put it back in the freezer for a few minutes before completing the job.
• FINALS - Remove the semifreddo from the fridge 10 minutes before serving and cut into slices while it is still very cold, sorting the portions into dessert plates. Let stand for a few minutes before serving, until it reaches a creamy consistency without losing its shape.
• ALCOHOLIC OPTION - If you prefer a more "exuberant" semifreddo you can substitute the lemon juice with 2 tablespoons of limoncello, incorporating it into the egg yolks whipped with the remaining ingredients.

LEMON MERINGUES

Steps:

• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Beat the egg whites and salt with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large bowl until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. While beating, gradually add the sugar and then continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Beat in the lemon extract.
• Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe 1-inch meringues on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake until the meringues are no longer glossy and feel light and dry when picked up, about 1 hour. Turn off the oven but leave the meringues inside with the door cracked open until they are completely cool and dry, about 2 hours. The meringues can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

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 MERINGUE PARFAIT

Steps:

• Line a 20cm round tin, preferably loose-based, with cling film, using more than one piece if necessary to cover the bottom and up the sides, and pop in the freezer.
• Roughly break up the meringues with your fingers into a bowl, aiming for nothing bigger than a golf ball.
• Put the cream and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until starting to stiffen. Stop when it looks floppy, like Greek yogurt.
• Grate over the lemon zest and sprinkle over the gin and meringue rubble. Use a large spoon or spatula to fold the cream up, over and round, until just combined.
• Stir the lemon curd so it's gloopy rather than firm; if it remains too thick, dilute with a tsp of gin. Dollop over the surface of the cream. Take your spoon and fold it in, turning the bowl as you do so - no more than a dozen folds, so the curd forms streaks. Spoon gently into the tin and freeze for at least four hours. Once firm, cover with cling film.
• About 10-20 mins before serving, remove the parfait from the freezer, invert onto a plate, peel away the cling film, and return right-side-up, at room temperature. Serve in wedges with lemon curd drizzled over and the fruit on the side.

LEMON SEMIFREDDO CAKE

Steps:

• Line bottoms and sides of two 5-by-9-inch loaf pans with parchment paper; set aside. Using a serrated knife, trim all edges of vanilla sheet cake by 1 inch so it measures 8 by 12 inches. Slice cake widthwise, through the top, into three vertical pieces, each 4 by 8 inches. Split each piece in half, slicing horizontally through the crumb. You should have six 4-by-8-inch layers. Set aside.
• Make the semifreddo: In a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, whisk together egg yolks, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar until smooth.
• Add wine, 1/2 cup lemon juice, and lemon zest; cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, and scraping across the bottom to prevent mixture from sticking to bowl, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat, and transfer to a large bowl. Let cool to room temperature, or place pan in an ice bath, stirring occasionally, to expedite chilling.
• When custard has cooled, combine the water, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and remaining teaspoon lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until mixture is slightly thickened and registers 240 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 8 minutes; wash down sides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent crystals from forming. Remove from heat, and let mixture cool 2 to 3 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites and remaining tablespoon sugar on medium-high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form. With mixer still running, slowly drizzle syrup mixture into egg whites; continue beating until meringue has cooled slightly and the bowl is cool to the touch.
• In another large mixing bowl, whip cream with remaining 3 tablespoons confectioners? sugar until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into cooled lemon mixture; fold in egg white mixture. Mixture should be very smooth. Place rum in a small bowl.
• Fit one of the cake layers in the bottom of each prepared loaf pan. Using a pastry brush, lightly moisten top of cake with rum. Using an offset spatula, evenly spread 1 1/2 cups lemon filling over each. Repeat process, making another layer of cake, rum, and filling; cover each with one of the remaining cake layers. Place in freezer at least 5 hours or overnight.
• Just before serving, remove pans from freezer, and turn cakes out of pans; remove parchment paper. Slice into pieces.