For the return of our Chef Series, we have a deliciously light and fresh summer recipe in which lemon takes centre stage. Theo Clench’s Baked Lemon Cream, Served With Burnt Lemon Granita is perfect for summer dinner party hosting, and its eye-catching presentation is sure to impress guests.
Theo, formerly Executive Chef of Akoko and Head Chef of Portland, now runs Cycene which recently received a Michelin Star. The restaurant serves strictly a 10-course menu inspired by the chef’s travels in East Asia and Australasia. Recently he was named as a Krug Ambassade Chef, and embarked on a culinary adventure to the lemon groves of Brazil with the aim of developing a “Single Ingredient gastronomic experience” hosted at Cycene, paying tribute to the lemon. This dessert is part of the series.
Baked Lemon Cream With Burnt Lemon Granita
Preperation Time: 30 MINUTES
COOK: 12 miNUTES
SERVES: 6 PEOPLE
This dish sees half an empty lemon shell filled with lemon cream and lemon granita, and garnished with grated lemon zest and freshly picked lemon balm.
Ingredients
Baked Lemon Cream
- 700ml double cream
- 5 eggs
- 90g sugar
- 80g lemon confit (recipe below)
- 4 lemons (zest and juice)
- 2.5 sheets of gelatine
Lemon Confit
- 50g lemon skin
- 75g sugar
- 150g lemon juice
Burnt Lemon Granita
- 150g burnt lemon pulp
- 50g lemon juice
- 225 ml water
- 10g elderflower cordial
- 25g sugar
- 10g glucose
Method
Before starting the recipe, cut 3 lemons in half lengthwise, scoop out the middle and reserve the pulp to squeeze for your lemon juice. Using a small spoon scrape out ⅔ of the pith and make it as smooth as possible, reserve in the fridge until you are ready to plate your dish.
For the Baked Lemon Cream
- Warm the cream, sugar, lemon confit, juice and zest in a pan until it reaches 75°C, whisk in eggs and pour into an oven dish. Meanwhile, soak the gelatine in ice-cold water to soften. Put the dish in the oven and bake at 100°C until it sets or reaches 82°C (around 25 minutes).
- Remove from the oven, remove the gelatine from the iced water and squeeze out any excess liquid. Whisk in the gelatine and pass through a fine mesh conical sieve into a container. Leave to set in a container in the fridge.
For the Lemon Confit
- Peel the lemon and place the skin in a pan of cold water and bring to a boil, let it boil for 30 seconds. Take out the lemon skin and cool it in iced water. Repeat this process 3 times.
- Once the lemon skin has been blanched 3 times, place the sugar and lemon juice in a pan and dissolve together. Once dissolved, add the lemon skin and slowly simmer until the skin is soft and translucent (around 30 minutes). Blitz in a small food processor until smooth, pass through a fine sieve and cool in the fridge until you are ready to make the lemon cream.
For the Burnt Lemon Granita
- Cut the peeled lemons from the lemon confit in half, place them face down in a dry pan, and cook them until they start to char and burn. Take out the pan and leave to cool. Once cool, scoop out the pulp.
- Place all ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil. Blend in a food processor and add the lemon juice. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve. Set in a container and place in the freezer. Once frozen, scrape with a fork to make the granita.
Serving instructions
Take the lemon shells out of the fridge. Place the lemon cream in a piping bag and pipe half of the shell full with cream. Fill the remaining half with the burnt lemon granita and garnish with grated lemon zest and freshly picked lemon balm.
Loved this Baked Amalfi Lemon Cream recipe? Check out more from our recipe section
