Meyer Lemon Basil Sorbet (with Limoncello)

Sorbets are one of the easiest frozen treats to make.   The first time I made Ruby Red Grapefruit Sorbet, my whole family loved it.  I learned that adding a little bit of vodka helps to prevent sorbets from crystallizing-- and gives a much smoother texture.  When I make Strawberry Sorbet, I add a little kirsch.

To make a sorbet, all you need to do is make a simple syrup (fancy word for sugar dissolved into water).  Add your favorite citrus juice (or puree), and you're in business.

One of my co-workers, brought a Meyer Lemon Sorbet, with basil, and asked me to taste it. She was test-driving it for a dinner party.  I fell in love with it, and couldn't stop longing for more. That very day, I bought basil and attacked our Meyer lemon tree (supplemented by some grocery store bought Meyers).

 

I've posted a Meyer Lemon Sorbet before, but I have to say that the basil adds a very interesting dimension. It takes almost a dozen Meyer lemons to make this sorbet.  If you can't find Meyer lemons, don't sweat it. Eureka lemons would work, fine, but they are a bit more tart-- so you might want to add more sugar.

Simple sugar is so easy to make, that I'm astounded that anyone would actually buy it! Really?  The ratio is equal parts sugar, added to water.  It's brought to a boil, then simmered until the sugar is dissolved.  This is how you make "sweet tea", or "Mojitos" or sorbets.  I store mine in a canning jar, with a tight-fitting lid, and it will keep for a couple of weeks.

The difference with this sorbet, is that you add fresh basil to the simple syrup, once it's removed from the heat.  How much basil you add is up to how much you LOVE basil.  In my first batch (yes, I loved it that much), I used about 1/2 cup worth.  In my next batch, I added double the basil and let it steep for a few hours.  The darker the simple syrup turns, the more basil flavor you will have. Two hours is what I find to be ideal.   Strain the simple syrup, cover it and allow it to chill.  I did this the day before, because I like my simple syrup to be well chilled.

Day #2, prepare the lemons: You want to save about two tablespoons of the zest.

It takes a lot of lemons to make this-- like 8-12, depending on the size.  This year, my Meyer lemon tree is still in shock from being moved out of it's large container, and being planted into the ground. I was also in sticker shock at how expensive Meyer lemons are to buy!  They are so worth it, since they have a slight flavor of orange to them.

Add the lemon juice and zest to the simple syrup.  Taste it!  Depending on the lemons, you might want to decrease the sugar or add more.  I found the batch to be a wee bit tart, but luckily  I had some extra simple syrup that I had made-- and added a bit more, until it tasted just right. I used a total of 1-3/4 cups sugar and it was perfect.

Turn on the ice cream maker, and pour it in...

I added two tablespoons of Lioncello. You an add vodka, instead. Or, you can skip the alcohol. No biggie, except that you might get a bit more of a crystal texture. It tastes good, no matter what.

Twenty minutes later... dee-lishush!

 Put the sorbet into an air-tight container and freeze.  To serve, bring to room temperature, anywhere from 5-15 minutes until it's just soft enough to scoop.

Before I squeezed out the lemon juice, I cut the bottom of each lemon half so that it would stand upright.  Then I removed the pulp, and froze the lemon halves.  They make a cute serving bowl, don't you think?

These are fun to serve at a dinner party.  Especially after a rich or heavy dish.  It's a lovely palate cleanser, for sure.

TASTING NOTES:  Lemon and Basil, as a sweet frozen dessert is a lovely combination.  My husband, didn't care of the combination.  I'm fine with that, as my son and I thoroughly loved this dessert.   These have the color and flavors of Spring.   This sorbet is one of my new favorites.

A printable recipe card is below.  If you can't view it, click here to be directed to where I store all of my recipes cards at Key Ingredient.
 

Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

With the arrival of Spring, I'm on a citrus kick.  I have three recipes to share with you, and two of them uses Meyer Lemons.  My husband planted a Meyer Lemon tree for me, a few years ago.  I love the beautiful orange color of Meyer lemons and am always looking for ways to enjoy the flavor of these lovely citrus fruits.

Meyer lemons are thought to be a cross between a lemon and a mandarin or a common orange; they are a bit sweeter than the more traditional Eureka lemons.They're also pricey to buy! Yikes! Still, they're worth it.

If you've never made scones before, I can assure you that they are very easy to do.  They are virtually fool-proof-- but there are a few important tips that I will share with you.  I was inspired to make these scones when I saw them posted on "Our Best Bites".  My son loves Lemon Poppy Seed Scones, and he used to buy some "pre-fab" scones that are sold in a plastic bucket.  I knew I could make a better version.  I printed the recipe and made a batch in no time at all.

The recipe begins with flour, baking soda, baking powder, lemon zest...and (I would find out too late), some sugar.   I rarely do this, but I forgot the sugar!  More on that later....

Tip #1:  Grate frozen butter.  This is much easier than cutting cold butter, and using a pastry blender. You can use a box grater, a micro-plane (for cutting coarser products...yes, I have an assortment of micro-planes) or your food processor with the grating disc.

 

Why frozen butter?  Tip #2: Scones puff up better, and have a very tender texture when there are cold chunks of butter (just like making pie crusts).  The butter creates more steam, they bake.  Add the grated butter to the dry ingredients, and use your fingers to toss and combine-- until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Tip #3: Don't overwork the dough!  Don't squeeze the dough... just toss gently.

For the wet ingredients, whisk one egg with the buttermilk.   I wanted to make sure that the lemon flavor would be the star of the show.  I keep pure lemon oil in my refrigerator, for times like this. I suppose lemon extract could work, but I'm a purist.  A little goes a long way, I added 1/4 teaspoon.

Pour the wet ingredients over the crumbly mixture and gently combine with two forks, or I like to use a flat whisk.  You don't want the dough to be "wet", but more "shaggy".  That means, mix until it's wet enough that any loose flour has been incorporated.  Then, stop!

Lightly flour a surface and dump the dough.  Patiently pat the dough... pat, pat, pat.   NOTE: This is the first batch that I made, and I had to add a bit more buttermilk to it.  It did come together better.

Tip #4:  We are not making bread!  Don't be tempted to knead the dough!  Pat, pat, pat.  Trust me, we don't want to work the gluten in the flour, or we'll have hockey pucks for scones.

When I posted recipes for  my Strawberry Scones or Harvest Pumpkin Scones, I show how I shaped the dough into a circle, and then cut them into wedges. 

This time, I wanted to make mini scones, so I shaped the dough so that I cut squares and then cut each one into a triangle.

A bench scraper makes this easier to do.

Spread each scone, evenly, on either parchment paper or a Silpat Mat.

Tip #5:  Freeze the scones. Yes, freeze them for at least 10 minutes.  Tips #1 & 2 explains why this is a good thing.

I set two timers-- one for 15 minutes, and another for 12 minutes. I wanted to be sure that I didn't burn the scones.  At 12 minutes, they weren't golden brown, yet. So 15 minutes did the trick. Look!  Puffy!

While the scones were baking, I made a glaze of powdered sugar, the juice of the zested lemon and 2 Tablespoons of half & half cream.  NOTE: In my first batch, I made a glaze with melted butter, instead of half & half, but found that the butter muted the lemon flavor.  I prefer a glaze that I can easily drizzle over a scone, so add the half & half (or you can use heavy cream or whole milk) a little at a time.    Here's the COOLEST TIP YET:  Balance a cooking rack over your kitchen sink (carefully, obviously)...

That way, when you spoon a glaze, the mess drips right into your sink-- no tray to wash, no parchment paper to waste.

Easy cleanup!

This is the first batch of glaze, made with melted butter instead of half & half.  It's thick, but as I've said, I felt it muted the lemon flavor. It was good, but...

I made a thinner glaze and spooned it over warm scones.  NOTE: I forgot to sift the powdered sugar, for this batch, hence there are clumps of sugar.  Simply esthetic flaws, but the flavor was great.

Once the scones had cooled, I added one more layer of glaze. Perfect!

TASTING NOTES FOR BATCH #1:  As I first mentioned, I forgot to add sugar to my first batch.  However, the thicker glaze saved the day.  I was disappointed, and my son reluctantly said that these were "okay".  Craig, on the other hand, ate them all and said he liked that they weren't sweet.

I couldn't stand it-- I had to make another batch, and tweak the recipe a bit.  I decided to switch sour cream for buttermilk, because I felt that my first batch of scones had a texture that I wasn't crazy about.  This time, I added the sugar, and made the glaze without butter.

TASTING NOTES FOR BATCH #2:   Bingo!  Redemption tastes sweet.  In this case, the sugar made these scones just sweet enough. I loved that the lemon flavor really took center stage.  The scones were tender and I am happy with this version.  That is not to say that Our Best Bites recipes isn't good. It is-- sometimes, a tweak or two is a good thing. In this case, I can say that this recipe is adapted from "Our Best Bites".  Thanks for the inspiration!

By the way, I froze half of my second batch of scones.  The following Saturday, I took them from the freezer into a 400F oven, and they turned out perfectly!  This is a great tip for planning ahead-- or, in my case, not being tempted to eat all of them at once.

A recipe card is at the end of this post.  If you can't "view" the card on this page, please click here.

 

 

                       

Meyer Lemon Bundt Cake

Many of you have heard the saying that "Lemon is my Chocolate".  I like chocolate, but lemon is what makes my taste buds very happy.  When I think of lemon, I think of a clean and refreshing taste.  Plus, I think lemon is one of those universal fruits that makes perks up the flavor in otherwise bland dishes, such as creamed soups and steamed vegetables.  My fondness for Greek food is because lemon is found in so many Greek recipes.  Our garden has both a Eureka and a Meyer lemon tree.  For those of you who aren't familiar with Meyer lemons, they are a hybrid that traces back to Mandarins.  The skins are much smoother than the more common Eureka lemon, and the flavor does have a sweet note of mandarin. 

The first recipe I made with this year's harvest of these lemons was a Meyer Limoncello Sorbet. (My husband has been hinting for more of this refreshing treat.)  I decided to make one of my favorite lemon dessert recipes, from Ina Garten; it's a popular in blogosphere, as I've seen it on several blogs.  I found the recipe in  my Ina Garten cookbook library, "Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again." The first time I posted this recipe, I named it "Guilt-Less Lemon Yogurt Cake".  This time, I used Meyer lemons, instead of Eureka lemons-- but either lemon works very well.  You can see step-by-step photos on how to make this right here.

This time, I used a bundt pan and I made two changes-- I added pure lemon extract into the batter, for more flavor. I also used low-fat vanilla yogurt since I didn't have Greek yogurt on hand.   The cake took about 45 minutes to be ready, but I always say it's safer to check your cakes before the suggested time (Ina says 50 minutes). 

Thanks to Baker's Joy, I can easily spray my bundt pan and the cake slips right out! Allow the cake to cook for about 5 minutes, on a cooling rack.

While the cake is almost finished baking, I made a simple syrup of lemon juice and sugar. Pour it on the warm cake, and allow it to absorb.

Once the cake has cooled, I made a quick glaze of powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice.

... and I spooned the glaze over the top, and allowed it to pour down the sides. Nice!

To me, bundt cakes are so effortless to make.  There's no fussing with making icing (I never buy canned icing... bleccccccccccch!)  There's no need to slice the cake and frost them.

Once sliced, they also transport well in lunch boxes.  They also taste great with a fresh cup of coffee or tea.
 My family loves this cake.  It's fool-proof and it disappears really fast.

You can view a printable recipe at the bottom of this page.  Make this cake, I tell you! It'll quickly become a keepsake, if you love lemon.

Baked with love,

Lemon Curd Custard Ice Cream - A childhood favorite success story

When I was in Middle School (long, long ago...) my mother owned a German Delicatessen. She leased her storefront space from a sweet  who decided to close his ice cream shop.  He kept the back part of the rental space, where he continued to make ice cream which he would wholesale.  Once in a while, Cecil would let me have a taste of his freshly made ice cream.  I can remember the first time I tasted his Lemon Custard Ice Cream.  I loved that flavor above all else. One day, Cecil retired his ice cream making business and I could never find that flavor again. Until today, that is.  Last summer, I developed my own version of an Ice Cream Custard.  I've made ice cream before, but I had never made the effort to cook eggs, milk, cream and sugar to make the base for ice cream.  I loved the creamy texture of  Strawberry Custard Ice Cream  that I made.  If you've never made ice cream-- or if you have made ice cream without eggs in it-- strap yourself in. I'm taking you for a ride that I hope you will enjoy.  I'm going to show you my unorthodox way that I make egg custard. I take a few shortcuts and I've never had a problem.  Ready?

 To make the egg custard, you simply whisk 4 egg yolks, sugar and vanilla until the sugar is dissolved.  Most recipes say to use a double-boiled to heat a combination of whole milk (or half and half) and heavy cream. Me? I microwave it for about 2 minutes.  You just don't want the milk/cream to boil.  Sloooooooooooowly add a little hot cream into the egg mixture, to temper it.  Whisking constantly, add the rest of the hot cream.
Once again, the recipes say to pour the egg and cream mixture into a double boiler and to cook until thick.  I don't.  I pour mine into a sauce pan and cook it on direct heat.  The key is to stick nearby, to keep stirring the mixture on medium-low heat until the mixture thickens.  It takes between 12-15 minutes; the mixture should coat the back of a spoon.  I pour the mixture into a metal bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and let it chill overnight.   This morning, I pondered on how I could achieve a clean but very present lemon flavor. Fresh lemon juice? How much?  Lemon zest? Lemon vodka?  Then, it hit me!

For Christmas, I had been given a jar of homemade lemon curd.  It had been water-canned, but I still kept it in my fridge.  It was delicious (thanks, Stef) with just the right balance of lemon-- a little tart, a little sweet.  I added the jar (8 oz) and whisked it into the chilled custard.  I took a taste, and that was it!
NOTE: If you live near a Trader Joe's, they sell a tasty lemon curd for a few bucks. Or, you can see how I make my own lemon curd-- which is very easy to do, by clicking here. Please tell you that you own an ice cream maker!  I bought a very inexpensive Hamilton Beach Ice Cream Maker for about $15.00.  It does a great job, and I always keep it in my freezer. All you need to do is turn on the machine, pour the mixture in and sit back for 15-20 minutes. You can hear the churning slow down, and the ice cream is ready!

After pouring the ice cream into a container, this went into the freezer for a few hours. I enjoyed what was left on the spatula...

Oh my... this is good! The lemon flavor reminds of Cecil Bindel's ice cream, back in the day.

VERDICT: I'm telling you the truth... I scooped the frozen ice cream just to photograph it (before the sun went down).  This freezes solid, but not rock solid. I tasted one spoonful, only.   Wow, it's so creamy, and the lemon flavor is spot on. In fact, I am practicing restraint by not touching this ice cream until tomorrow, so I returned all of the ice cream (even what you see in the photo), back to the freezer. I've invited my family over for a BBQ and I'm making a special dessert that will showcase this ice cream. Just sayin'... Ice Cream Custard is the way to go.  If you love lemon, this recipe is a winner.  Humbly said, this is my own recipe and it hasn't failed me yet. 

Now then...I know that I've been on a pie-making roll, and now it looks like I'm on an ice cream making roll (what else goes best with pie?). I just love how easy this ice cream egg custard is to make, and that you can easily adapt any kind of flavor or nummies you want to toss in.   I've made two more flavors of ice cream-- and they've all been terrific; I'll be posting those very soon. Did you know that  National Ice Cream Day is July 18th? I'm getting an early start!


Please scroll to the bottom of this page for printable recipes.

Oh, and thanks for stopping by,