recipes
meyer lemon soufflé with tangerine ice cream
MEYER LEMON SOUFFLÉ
SERVES 12
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)
2 teaspoons Meyer lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon powdered gelatin
8 eggs
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon flour
pinch cream of tartar
Preparation:
To make the lemon pastry cream, in a heavy bottomed 2-3 quart
saucepan, heat the cream, lemon juice, lemon zest and 1 tablespoon
of sugar. In a small bowl, dissolve gelatin in 2 tablespoons cold water.
Set aside.
Meanwhile, on the side, separate 8 eggs, reserving the whites;
place 5 yolks in a medium bowl, 2 yolks in a small glass to hold for
later and 1 to discard or use for something else. Whisk the 5 yolks
with 2 tablespoons of sugar and the salt. Then briskly whisk in the
flour, making sure that the mixture is smooth with no lumps or
streaks of white. While continually whisking, begin adding some of
the hot lemon cream to the yolk mixture to warm it. Add about half
and then whisk the yolk-lemon mixture back into the pot incorporating everything together.
Cook the custard over medium-high heat whisking continuously
and making sure to scrape the bottom of the entire pot. Once the
mixture boils (1 minute) and thickens, remove it from the heat and
stir in 2 tablespoons of room temperature butter and the softened
gelatin. Allow the mixture to cool in a clean stainless steel bowl.
Make the meringue. There should be 1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons
of granulated sugar remaining. Place 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of
sugar in a small sauce pot and dissolve it in 3 tablespoons of water.
Place the pot over medium heat and insert a candy thermometer.
Simultaneously place the 8 egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer
and begin whisking on a medium-high speed. Once whites begin to
foam up, add the cream of tartar.
When the egg whites are completely foamy and begin to hold
whisk lines, you should turn the heat on under the sugar syrup to
high. Once the sugar syrup has come to a rolling boil and reaches
225º-230ºF, begin adding the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar to
the egg whites. As you add the sugar, the whites should become
shiny and gain volume. If you see the whites beading (little lumps of
egg whites) on the side of the bowl then they have been whipped too
dry: slow the machine down and add the remaining sugar.
Once the sugar syrup on the stove reaches 248ºF, pour it, in a
steady stream down the side of the bowl, into the whipped whites.
The whites should still gain more volume and take on a satiny white
color. Whip the meringue for 3-5 more minutes on a medium-high
speed until it stiffens and cools.
Once the meringue is done, whisk remaining raw egg yolks into
the lemon pastry cream. Add about 1 quarter of the meringue to the
lemon custard to lighten it and then add the remaining meringue.
Fold these 2 mixtures together with a spatula or bowl scraper. Make
sure you place your spatula in the center of the bowl, scrape the bottom and bring the bottom over the top. Rotate the bowl 45 degrees
and repeat this motion. Continue folding mixture together until all
the egg whites are incorporated.
Using a rubber or plastic spatula, fill 12, 4-oz domed bake-proof
silicone molds with the mousse, making sure to fill from the bottom
to the top. Flatten the tops of the domes with a metal spatula, scraping any excess mousse back into the bowl. Freeze the domes.
SWEET TART DOUGH
Ingredients:
4 oz room temperature butter
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 egg yolk (room temperature)
1 cup + 1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
zest of 1 lemon or tangerine, optional
Preparation:
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand
mixer, beat the butter on a medium speed for 1 minute to soften.
Cream the butter with the powdered sugar and optional lemon
zest on a slow speed at first, and then a medium-high speed until
it becomes fluffy and light in color (almost white), approximately
6-8 minutes. Once the butter-sugar mixture is fluffy and white, add
the egg yolk, and continue to beat for another minute until the egg
is fully incorporated. At this point, the batter should look smooth
and glossy.
Toss the dry ingredients together in a dry bowl with a whisk and
add them, all at once, to the butter-egg mixture. Use a rubber spatula
to fold the flour in with the butter-egg mixture a few turns before
turning the mixer on at a slow speed. Mix the dough until it becomes
homogenous (1-2 minutes). Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula and mix for another 30 seconds.
