It was a party in a dessert bowl.
We were celebrating the happy birthday of my neighbor and good friend Sarah, and I needed a light dessert to follow an ambitious Mexican menu.
Sarah loves everything lemon, so I prepared this Melissa Clark (New York Times) recipe for a No-Bake Lemon Custard with Strawberries.
It was an amazing dessert with all the perfect custard notes and a pitch-perfect lemon flavor. The macerated strawberries made for a beautiful presentation and a counter flavor to the lemon. (In the interest of fully-vetting this recipe, I’ve since enjoyed the custard with blueberries and raspberries and with a mixture of berries. Those berries are a wonderful complement to the lemony custard, too.)
Here is the recipe. You can find the original recipe on the New York Times recipe site here.
Interestingly, this is a custard made without rennet or gelatin. When you add the lemon juice to the cream and let the mixture chill, the magic happens and the custard sets.
Here’s the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
No-Bake Lemon Custard
Ingredients
- For the custard
- 2 C. heavy cream
- 2/3 C. granulated sugar
- 2 t. finely-grated lemon zest
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 1/3 C. fresh lemon juice
- For the strawberries (or other berries)
- 1 C. sliced strawberries or berries of your choice
- 1-2 t. granulated sugar
- Freshly-ground black pepper for garnish
Directions
- Step 1 Combine cream, sugar, lemon zest and salt in a large saucepan. Heat until the mixture comes to a simmer and until the sugar is dissolved (stirring frequently). Continue the simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. You want the cream to thicken a bit. Stir frequently during this process.
- Step 2 After the cream has simmered and thickened, remove it from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Let the cream/lemon mixture cool for about 20 minutes. A slight film will form on top.
- Step 3 Stir the slightly-cooled mixture and pour it through a fine sieve into a container with a spout. Pour the strained custard into individual ramekins or, as I did, into a medium-sized measuring cup. Chill for at least three hours. I chilled my custard overnight.
- Step 4 Serve topped with strawberries that have been allowed to macerate in a bit of sugar for about an hour. This gives you an attractive juicy red strawberry topping. Or, use other berries as you wish. Sprinkle a small amount of freshly-ground pepper on the top of the custard and serve.
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