Though these may look like mini cheesecakes, they're actually not ... these creamy little frozen lemon treats are just as rich but light at the same time and PERFECT for summer!
I've tried my hand at curd once before and it ended up a nice dessert when incorporated with freshly whipped cream and fruit, as you see here in my citrus curd with raspberries however this version is MUCH nicer as I love the frozen element to it, really brings out the citrus flavour and transforms the whipped cream into something else entirely!
Start with the lemon curd, which is the easiest thing in the world to whip up especially with this recipe that only uses 3-4 ingredients and trust me in 10 minutes you'll have a luscious citrusy sweet curd with very little effort.
Easy Lemon Curd
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Instructions:
1. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a small saucepan and set aside.
2. Add lemon juice plus zest to the eggs/sugar mixture and cook egg mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick. Should take 10 minutes to get to a gravy-like consistency. Pour the mixture through a fine strainer and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the curd and and refrigerate overnight or up to 4 hours.
If you'd like to enjoy it as is you can add a tsp of butter at the end as it's cooling and swirl it in for a nice sheen and richness but as it will be incorporated with heavy cream in this recipe we're using it as is.
Creamy Frozen Lemon Dessert
The following day or after 4 hours of lemon curd chilling ...
Prepare a muffin tray lined with 6-8 paper cupcake/muffin liners.
Whip 2 cups of heavy cream (35%) with a few drops of vanilla (and I added 1 tbsp powder sugar) until soft peaks form, stop at this point.
Using a whisk beat the curd as to break up the stiffness until it's pale and creamy. Using a spatula add half the curd into the whipped cream and gently fold in incorporating. Add the rest and at this point you can fold it in again or just gently swirl it in.
Fill your muffin cups and tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles from the little desserts.
Chill in the freezer overnight or up to 4 hours again.
Blueberry sauce:
2 cups fresh (or frozen) blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
- Add blueberries to a small saucepan, add lemon juice, sugar, as well as lemon zest. Heat on high and simmer for 5 minutes. Crush half of the blueberries (just using the back of a fork to create more of a sauce)
Allow to cool, then cover and refrigerate until needed.
To assemble dessert remove frozen lemon whips from freezer and gently remove the paper (it comes off easily, don't worry)
Set on plate and top with blueberry sauce! You could add lemon slices to the plate if desired for presentation.
Courtesy: Thanks to dieter's downfall for the recipe, she added ginger to her lemon curd which sounds AMAZING and I was super tempted but not everyone here likes ginger so next time I make these I'm going to be adding some spicy zestiness for sure!
