Meyer Lemon Shortcakes With Meyer Curd And Mixed Citrus Food

MEYER LEMON CAKE

Steps:

• For the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until smooth and creamy. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Combine the milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Alternately combine the dry ingredients and the milk mixture with the butter mixture. Beat well until smooth. Add the eggs 1 at a time and mix well. Divide the batter between the 2 cake pans. Bake the cake for about 20 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool before unmolding.
• For the Lemon Curd: Whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar. Add the lemon juice. Place the mixture in a heavy bottomed sauce pot. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the butter. Strain the curd. Stir in the lemon zest. Place the curd in a bowl and cover the surface of the curd with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold.
• For the Easy Buttercream Frosting: Combine powdered sugar with the other ingredients and beat until smooth.
• Assembly: Cut each cake in half, giving you 4 layers. Layer 1 cake piece with 1/3 of the lemon curd. Gently spread about 1/3 cup of the frosting over the curd. Repeat with 2 more layers of cake, curd and frosting. Place the forth cake piece on top and frost the sides and top with the remaining frosting.

MEYER LEMON CURD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar, 2 to 3 minutes with an electric mixer. With mixer on low speed, add eggs and yolks one at a time until incorporated. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will come together during the cooking process.
• In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat, stirring gently until it looks smooth. Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. This will take about 15-30 minutes. The curd is done cooking when it coats a spoon and should leave a trail if you draw a finger across the back. For best results, use a candy thermometer and cook to 170°. Do not let it come to a boil. If it does overcook and curdles, pour curd through a fine-mesh sieve when done cooking to strain out the curdled parts.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the zest. Transfer to a bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap over the top to prevent a skin from forming while it cools. After it cools down a bit, chill in the refrigerator; it will thicken more as it chills. If you aren't planning on using it right away, transfer to clean jars or a tightly covered container. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for about a week and will freeze up to two months.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE WITH MEYER LEMON CREAM

Steps:

• MAKE THE BISCUITS: Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large bowl, whisk the all-purpose and cake flours with the sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the cold butter until it is the size of small peas. Stir in the cream until a shaggy dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and knead 2 or 3 times, just until it comes together. Roll the dough into a 7-inch round, about 3/4 inch thick. Using a 2 3/4-inch or 3-inch biscuit cutter, stamp out 5 biscuits. Gently gather the scraps and reroll them; cut out 1 more round so you have a total of 6 biscuits.
• Transfer the biscuits to a baking sheet and brush with the melted butter. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar on top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the biscuits are golden. Let cool.
• MEANWHILE, MAKE THE LEMON CREAM: Set a strainer over a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, combine half of the lemon zest with the lemon juice, sugar, egg, egg yolk, salt and 1 tablespoon of the butter. Cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Immediately strain the curd into the bowl. Whisk in the remaining lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of butter. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and refrigerate until cool, about 15 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, softly whip the cream. Fold the lemon curd into the whipped cream and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
• PREPARE THE STRAWBERRIES: In a medium bowl, toss the strawberries with the sugar and let stand for 15 minutes.
• Split the biscuits in half and arrange the bottom halves on plates. Mound the lemon cream on the biscuits, top with the strawberries and their juices and replace the tops. Serve right away.

MIXED CITRUS "MARMALADE"

Steps:

• Cut ends off kumquats, then cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, removing seeds. Place kumquat slices in medium saucepan; pour enough cold water over to cover by 2 inches. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Immediately remove from heat; strain. Return kumquat slices to pan; repeat blanching 2 more times. Transfer kumquat slices to medium bowl. Combine 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water in same saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to boil, brushing down pan sides with wet pastry brush. Add kumquat slices; press gently to submerge. Reduce heat so that mixture barely simmers. Cover surface with parchment round. Cook without stirring until kumquats are translucent, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer kumquat slices to medium bowl. Add lemon slices and lemon juice to syrup in pan, pressing to submerge. Bring to boil. Reduce heat so that syrup barely simmers. Cover surface with parchment round. Cook without stirring until lemon slices are translucent, occasionally pressing on parchment to submerge slices, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes. Transfer lemon slices to cutting board; cut each into quarters. Add lemon quarters and syrup to bowl with kumquat slices. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill.
• Cut off peel and white pith from blood oranges. Working over bowl to catch juices and using small knife, cut between membranes to release segments. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
• Drain syrup from kumquat-lemon mixture, reserving syrup. Drain orange segments. Combine fruit in medium bowl, adding some syrup if mixture is dry.

MEYER LEMON CURD

Steps:

• Beat sugar and butter together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs and yolks one at a time until incorporated. Mix in lemon juice. Transfer mixture to a saucepan.
• Cook the mixture over low heat, stirring gently until smooth. Increase the heat to medium and simmer gently, stirring constantly, until curd is thick enough to coat a spoon and reaches 170 degrees F (77 degrees C) on a candy thermometer, 15 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest.
• Transfer curd to a bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin forming as it cools. Allow to cool briefly, about 10 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill until thick.