Super Meyer Lemon Ice Cream

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Meyer lemons were on sale this week at the grocery store so of course I couldn't leave without a bag of 6 or 7 of these beauties! I recently became the proud owner of two Meyer lemon trees so hopefully next year I'll be picking them from my own backyard. In the meantime however, I couldn't resist bringing these home with me. After buying them I had to decide what I wanted to do with them. Oh the possibilities! I came across this article in the LA Times for 100 things to do with Meyer lemons. I'd like to try every single one of them. With my two trees, I just might get the chance! One of the suggestions they listed was for Meyer lemon ice cream. They had a link to a recipe, but I didn't have everything it called for so I decided to look to David Lebovitz, my ice cream guru. He had a recipe for Super Lemon Ice Cream that not only sounded wonderful but was also quite simple to make. So I decided I'd try my Meyer lemons in this recipe. I replaced the regular lemon juice with Meyer lemon juice. Meyer lemons are a little milder than lemons and I wanted the ice cream to have a real lemony punch so I added a bit more zest in mine. I think this ice cream has a great balance of tart and sweet.



Ingredients

3 teaspoons lemon zest (I used a little more than a Tablespoon of Meyer lemon zest)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 pinch salt

Zest lemons directly into food processor. Pour in sugar and process until the sugar is faintly lemon-colored and the zest is finely ground.

Juice the lemons and straining out any seeds. Pour the measured juice into the sugar/zest mixture. Blend until the sugar dissolves.
Add half and half and blend.Chill for about an hour; the product may break up, but just stir it back together. Freeze in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's directions.

For Easter we had a strawberry and rhubarb sauce to go with our cake. I had a little left over and topped the ice cream with the sauce. The flavors were perfect together.

Meyer Lemon Custard Cakes

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It's been gray and rainy for several days. The holidays are over and after all that baking I'm lacking motivation a bit. Hubs and I are trying to get in better shape. These are a few of the reasons I've been finding it difficult to blog right now. Don't worry there will still be plenty of baking going on, I'm just in a slight funk.
I got a bag of these gorgeous sunny Meyer lemons from my parents farm. They're so pretty they're begging to baked into something wonderful. I just got the latest Bon Appetit and in it is a recipe for Meyer lemon custard cakes. There small light and lemony, the perfect antidote to all those heavy holiday desserts.

Meyer Lemon Custard Cakes
source: Bon Appetit

3/4 cup plus 2 TBS sugar, divided
1/4 cup all purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 1/3 cups whole milk
2 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice or regular lemon juice
2 TBS finely grated Meyer lemon peel or regular lemon peel
1 8-ounce container chilled creme fraiche

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter eight 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups. Whisk together 1/2 cup plus 2 TBS sugar, flour and pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Combine milk, egg yolks, lemon juice, and lemon peel in a large bowl; whisk until blended. In another bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat egg whites till stiff but not dry. Fold 1/4 of whites into custard. In two additions fold in the remaining egg whites in the custard. (the custard will be runny and I had lumps of egg whites when I made it)
Divide custard equally among the ramekins. Place ramekins in a large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of ramekins. Bake custards until golden brown and set on top (custard cakes will have a soft center), about 25-27 minutes. Cool slightly, and refrigerate custard cakes. Chill custard cakes until cold at least 4 hours, then cover and keep refrigerated.
Using electric mixer, beat creme fraiche in a medium bowl until softly whipped.
Run a knife around each custard cake to loosen. Invert each on a plate. Serve with whipped creme fraiche.

*Notes: I made this recipe according to the recipe except for the creme fraiche because I didn't have any on hand. I think I would use 1/2 cup lemon juice and 3 TBS grated lemon peel the next time I make these. The lemon flavor was very light and I like a little more tang. The custards definitely need to be made in advance so the flavors have a chance to meld.