Recipes

Cuisine: Irish
Course: Dessert
Cooking Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:
Makes 12 small or six large ones

• 6 meringues or meringue nests - crushed into small chunks
• 200ml whipped cream
• Lemon curd
• 100g butter
• 220g caster sugar
• Finely grated zest and juice of 4 lemons - if you can find unwaxed lemons,all the better
• 4 eggs and additional 2 yolks

Method:
The success of this dessert relies on the quality of the lemon curd, after that it is a simple assembly job. You can buy or make meringues. I use an assortment of little glasses and pots to serve this wonderful tangy dessert in, giving guests a teaspoon to tuck in.

On a very low heat melt the butter, add the sugar, lemon rind, lemon juice and sugar and stir in the well-beaten eggs.

Contrary to most recipes where lemon curd is stirred using a wooden spoon, I prefer to use a whisk as I feel it add lightness to the curd.

Stir with a whisk from time to time until the butter has completely melted. Let the curd cook, stirring regularly, for about 10 minutes, until it is thick and custard-like. It should feel heavy on the whisk.

Remove from the heat and stir occasionally as it cools. Pour into spotlessly clean jars and seal. It will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge.
To assemble, spoon the curd until the glasses you are using are one-third full, cover the curd with a dollop of lightly whipped cream and sprinkle generously with crushed meringues.

Another take on these ingredients is to mix together the whipped cream, lemon curd and crushed meringues . Line a 2lb pudding bowl with a double layer of cling film and fill the lined pudding bowl with the mix. Wrap in cling film and freeze overnight, or until needed. Remove from the freezer 30 minutes before required, and turn out on a serving plate. If you have lemon curd left over, pour some on top and serve. This will serve six. If you have some curd left over, it will keep in the fridge in a covered jar for two to three weeks.

Photography: Shane O Neill
Food styling: Leona Humphries, onefineplate.com

Labels: Dessert