LEMON MERINGUE CUSTARDS

Lemon Meringue Custards image

Categories Milk/Cream Mixer Egg Dessert Bake Lemon Chill Gourmet

Yield Serves 12

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

For the custard
3/4 cup sugar
the zest of 3 lemons, removed with a vegetable peeler (being careful to include none of the white pith)
2 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 large egg yolks
4 large whole eggs
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
For the meringue
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 large egg whites
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
silver dragées for garnish

Steps:

Make the custard:
In a food processor grind the sugar and the zest until the zest is chopped fine and transfer the mixture to a large saucepan. Add 1/4 cup water, bring the mixture to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and boil the syrup for 5 minutes. Stir in the milk, the cream, and the salt and cook the mixture until it is hot, but do not let it boil. In a bowl whisk together the yolks and the whole eggs, add the hot milk mixture in a stream, whisking, and stir in the lemon juice. Strain the custard through a fine sieve into twelve 2/3-cup ramekins set in a large baking pan, add enough hot water the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins, and bake the custards in the middle of a preheated 325°F. oven for 40 minutes, or until they are just set. (Alternatively, the custard can be baked in the same manner in a 1 1/2-quart shallow baking dish for 1 hour, or until it is just set.) Remove the ramekins from the pan, let the custards cool completely, and chill them, covered loosely with wax paper, for at least 3 hours. The custards may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled.
Make the meringue:
In a small saucepan combine the sugar with 1/3 cup water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Boil the syrup until it registers 248°F. on a candy thermometer and remove the pan from the heat. While the syrup is boiling, in a bowl with an electric mixer beat the whites with a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks. With the mixer running add the hot syrup in a stream, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, and beat in the lemon juice.
Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, blot the top of the custard dry with paper towels, and pipe the meringue decoratively onto it. Sprinkle the meringue with the dragées, transfer the custards to a large baking pan filled with ice, and bake them in the top third of a preheated 450°F. oven for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the meringue is golden. The lemon meringue custards may be made 3 hours in advance and kept in the large baking pan filled with more ice.