Best Lemon Verbena Ice Milk With Strawberry Granita Recipes

LEMON VERBENA CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Wrap the outside of the pan with a double thickness of foil. Put a kettle of water on to boil for the water bath.
• To make crust: Pulse vanilla wafers in a food processor into fine crumbs. Add oil and pulse to blend. Press crumb mixture evenly into bottom of prepared pan. (Rinse and dry the workbowl.)
• To make filling: Process cottage cheese in food processor until very smooth and silky, stopping to scrape down the sides once or twice. Add cream cheese and process until smooth. Add 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla and salt; process until well blended. Add eggs and pulse several times just until mixed in. Sprinkle in lemon verbena (or lemon balm); mix with a rubber spatula. (Do not process.) Scrape the filling into the crust-lined pan.
• Place the cheesecake in a shallow roasting pan and pour in enough boiling water to come 1 inch up the outside of the springform pan. Bake until the edges are set but the center quivers slightly, 50 to 55 minutes. Turn off the oven. Let the cheesecake cool in the oven, with the door ajar, for 1 hour.
• Remove foil from pan. Cover cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours.
• To make topping: About 1/2 hour before serving, rinse strawberries. Set aside 3 whole berries for garnish; hull remaining berries and slice into a bowl. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar and toss to coat. Let stand until strawberries are juicy, 20 to 30 minutes.
• To serve, place cheesecake on a serving platter and run a knife around the inside edge of the pan; remove pan rim. Make 3 lengthwise cuts in each whole berry; press lightly and arrange fanned berries in the center of the cheesecake. Garnish with a sprig of lemon verbena (or lemon balm). Cut cheesecake into slices and place on dessert plates. Top each serving with strawberries and juice and garnish with another lemon verbena (or lemon balm) sprig.

LEMON VERBENA GRANITA

Steps:

• Place a small metal tray into the freezer to chill. Put the lemon verbena, lemon zest, and sugar into the boiling water and allow to infuse for 10 minutes. Add your ice cubes to bring the temperature down and then sieve the liquid into the cold metal tray (keep the lemon zest and verbena for later) and place in the freezer for about 2 hours. Mash with a fork, scratching up the ice, then freeze for a further 2 hours.
• To prepare the apple compote, put 2 tablespoons of sugar into a small pan and heat on a medium heat until it is syrupy and light caramel color. Finely chop the reserved lemon zest and lemon verbena and add to the caramel with the apple and lemon juice. Mix and cook for a couple of minutes.
• To serve, spoon a little compote into 4 small shot glasses, then a spoonful of creme fraiche, and finally top with the granita and a small sprig of lemon verbena.

ITALIAN LEMON ICE (GRANITA)

Steps:

• Combine 2 cups of the water with the sugar in a medium nonreactive saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat.
• Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved.
• Add the salt, stir, and remove the pan from the heat.
• Stir in the remaining water and let cool to room temperature.
• Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, place a shallow metal 2 1/2 qt container (such as a large cake pan) in the freezer to chill.
• Add the lemon juice, lemon peel, and extract to the chilled sugar mixture; stir until well blended.
• Pour into the chilled metal pan.
• Place the pan in the freezer for 30-60 minutes, or until ice crystals form around the edges.
• Stir the ice crystals into the center of the pan and return to the freezer.
• Repeat every 30 minutes, or until all the liquid is crystallized but not frozen solid, about 3 hours.
• To serve, scoop the granita into chilled dessert bowls or goblets.
• (If the granita has become too hard, scrape it with a large metal spoon to break up the ice crystals.) Serve at once.
• Advance Preparation: The granita can be stored, covered, for up to four days in the freezer, but it will have become frozen solid.
• To serve, either allow the granita to thaw in the refridgerator until you can scrape the crystals, or break it up into chunks and process with on/off motions in a food processor fitted with the knife blade until fairly smooth.

LEMON VERBENA POUND CAKE WITH STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• Make cake:
• Preheat oven to 325°F. and butter and flour a 1-quart kugelhopf pan, knocking out excess flour.
• In a bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, verbena (or zest), and zest. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in vanilla. Beat in half of flour mixture. Beat in milk and lemon juice and beat in remaining flour mixture until just combined.
• Spoon batter into pan, smoothing top, and bake in middle of oven 45 to 55 minutes, or until golden brown on top and a tester comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a rack 15 minutes and invert onto rack to cool completely.
• Make glaze while cake is cooling:
• In a small bowl whisk confectioners's sugar, a little at a time, into lemon juice until smooth and thick.
• When cake is completely cooled, drizzle glaze over cake and let it drip down sides. Cake may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
• Serve cake at room temperature with strawberries.

LEMON VERBENA ICE MILK WITH STRAWBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Prepare the ice milk: heat milk and 3/4 cup sugar in a heavy pan until bubbles form around the milk edges, then remove from heat. Crush lemon verbena leaves in your fists. Add to milk; steep 5 minutes. Taste the mixture; add more leaves if desired. Strain and chill.
• Whip the egg whites to soft peaks, slowly add 2 tablespoons sugar and continue to whip until peaks are shiny. Whisk the egg whites into the milk mixture and pour into an ice cream machine. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Make the granita: in a pan, bring 3/4 cup water and 6 tablespoons sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and cool. Purée halved berries in a food processor; strain.
• In a bowl, mix together strawberries, sugar syrup and lemon juice. Taste and add more sugar or lemon juice if needed. Pour into a wide shallow container, and place in the freezer for an hour. Remove the granita and scrape the ice with a fork. Repeat every hour six times, until granita is fluffy and icy.
• To serve, toss quartered strawberries with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Let sit 5 minutes. Scoop lemon verbena ice milk into chilled dessert bowls, and sprinkle the strawberry granita over the top. Garnish with fresh strawberry slices.