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Recipe Detail Page
Tropical Lemon & Cream Parfait
Early Summer 2017
There are a few steps involved in making this dessert, but lemon curd can be made well ahead of time, and the meringue can be made a day or two ahead of time as long as it is kept in an airtight container. If you haven’t made lemon curd before, you may want to cook it in the top of a double boiler to be sure it doesn’t curdle, but it is much quicker to make in a heavy-bottom pot.
Makes 8 servings
MERINGUE SHARDS
2 large egg whites, room temperature
¼ tsp (1 mL) cream of tartar
½ cup (125 mL) superfine sugar
Pinch salt
¼ tsp (1 mL) vanilla
LEMON & PASSION-FRUIT CURD
⅔ cup (150 mL) fresh lemon juice
2 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
¾ cup (175 mL) sugar
Pinch salt
½ cup (125 mL) unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces
2 tbsp (30 mL) grated lemon zest
Pulp of 4 ripe and wrinkled passion fruit, about ⅓ cup (80 mL)
2 cups (500 mL) thick vanilla Greek yogurt (look for one with 10% MF)
2 bananas, peeled and sliced
2 to 3 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
1 cup (250 mL) blueberries
8 cape gooseberries to garnish
1. Preheat oven to 200°F (100°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Combine egg whites and cream of tartar and beat with an electric mixer until you have soft peaks. Continue beating adding sugar a spoonful at a time until it is fully incorporated and dissolved (pinch a little to see if you feel any grittiness) and mixture is stiff and glossy. Beat in salt and vanilla.
3. Scrape meringue onto parchment paper and use a large offset spatula to spread it out as thinly as possible. Bake for 2 hours then turn the oven off and let it stand in the oven for 1 hour longer or until dry and crisp. Break into large pieces.
4. Combine the lemon juice, whole eggs, yolks, sugar and salt in a small heavy-bottom pot and whisk until uniform. Place pot over low heat and cook, stirring frequently and then constantly as mixture begins to thicken (do not allow to boil or eggs will curdle). When mixture is thick (and registers 180°F/82°C) remove from heat and add butter, 1 piece at a time, stirring until each has melted before adding another. Strain curd into a clean bowl. Stir in lemon zest and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it into the surface of the curd to keep it from forming a skin as it cools. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until fully cooled. Lemon curd can be made up to a week ahead. Keep in the refrigerator and stir in passionfruit pulp just before using.
5. Spoon about ¼ cup (60 mL) yogurt into each glass. Top with about ¼ cup (60 mL) prepared lemon and passion-fruit curd. Add sliced bananas, kiwi and blueberries and insert a few pieces of meringue. Garnish each glass with a cape gooseberry.
Makes 8 servings
