Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Frozen Lemon Puff


5 eggs ( separate 3) - reserve whites
3/4 Cup Really Good Lemon Juice (I use Santa Cruz)
One Cup Sugar
Two Cups Whipping Cream
One Box Vanilla Wafers
Dash of Cream of Tartar
1/4 Cup Icing Sugar

If you love lemon with ALL your heart, then this Puff is for you!
Of course, if you have any affection for the flavor of lemons at all,
you're gonna want to try this too.

The first time I made this recipe, I thought the idea of simply placing vanilla wafers at the bottom of the pan and up the sides as whole wafers without crumbling them and adding butter was absolutely ridiculous! I reread the directions over and over again to make sure I was reading it correctly. When I decided to do as the recipe asked, there were bare spots peaking through everywhere - not a very trustworthy crust as far as I was concerned. But, since I completely trusted the source of this recipe ( Best of Bridge Cookbook), I followed the instructions with blind faith. I ask that you do the same.

First, whisk two of the eggs fast and furiously. Add 3 egg yolks, all 3/4 cup of the lemon juice, and sugar to the beaten eggs and pour in a double boiler - stir constantly over medium heat, until thick. Let this cool down a bit.

Meanwhile, whip the two cups of cream until it becomes ‘whipped cream’. Then, using a spatula, fold the lemon/egg mixture into the whipped cream. Now, pour this lemon cloud of cream into that springform pan that’s lined with the vanilla wafers. Beautiful, isn’t it?

We’re not done yet, though.

Beat the three egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and sugar. Beat again until peaks are stiff. Spread this over the lemon layer and place in the oven under the broiler. Do NOT walk away from the stove! This is no time to get careless. Watch your lemon masterpiece carefully as the broiler lightly browns your meringue in a matter of seconds. It might be wise to keep the oven door open, just so time doesn’t slip away, and you find yourself crying in the corner over the dessert you destroyed.

When you’ve successfully browned your meringue, cover it with foil - making sure it doesn’t touch that meringue - and freeze your Lemon Puff for eight hours or longer. Remove from the freezer at least 1-1/2 hours before serving.

This dessert is light and lemony and luscious! In fact, if I had my way, I would totally give it a more fabulous and suitable name. I would call it "Luscious Lemon Dream Puff"!


You’ll find as you remove the sides of a standard size springform pan that each little wafer serves as a perfect guideline for serving sizes. No pigging out today!

It must be said that for those who typically use Cool Whip or Dream Whip instead of whipping their own cream, Jen and I say “enter at your own risk“, because we can't vouch for the results. It might turn out just fine, but we don’t recommend it. (don’t do it)

Our Vanilla Wafers came from the health food store and they worked great!
(just trying to stay away from the hydrogenated stuff)

Once, I used 3 little mini-sized springform pans to make three smaller "dream puffs". You can make them as big or small as you want or as short or tall as you like, because you don't have to worry about baking time. I love recipes that have creative wiggle room like that!

If truth be told, I'm not a big meringue fan - never understood all the fuss. So, for the baby sized Puff, I punched up the zing factor by making the balsamic strawberries from our Valentine's Day post, drained them a bit and draped them lovingly all over the Puff - talk about adding a little razzle dazzle! It looked so purdy that I used its picture to lead off this recipe instead of the plain Jane Lemon Puff. Sorry Plain Jane. Sorry to all of you. I guess you're just going to have to imagine what the meringue looks like.....

Wow! Blueberry is Beauuuutiful too!


Frozen Lemon Puff

5 eggs ( separate 3 ) reserve whites
3/4 cup lemon juice
One cup sugar
Two cups whipping cream
Vanilla wafers- one box
Dash of cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar

Whisk two eggs. Add 3 egg yolks, lemon juice, & sugar in double boiler until thick - (15-20 minutes) - stirring constantly. COOL. Whip cream and fold in lemon mixture. Line sides and bottoms of springform pan with vanilla wafers. Pour mixture over wafers.
Beat 3 egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and sugar. Beat until peaks are stiff. Spread on the lemon mixture and brown under broiler briefly. Cover with foil making sure it doesn't touch the meringue. Freeze eight hours or more. Remove from freezer at least 1-1/2 hours before serving. Take off foil immediately.

1 comments:

Jenelle said...

so yummy with the blueberries. perfect amount of lemon

Post a Comment