Meyer Lemon Sorbet and Flourless Chocolate Cake….some things in this life are so right.
There are some combinations that make me happy to be alive…..one of them is Meyer lemon and chocolate, well actually Meyer lemon and anything, and actually chocolate and anything too…….so for me this is the ultimate combination…
One of the main sources of good time here in Nevada City are potlucks….I am going to one tonight…..dear friend of the family and of the farm are hosting a potluck in their home so I wanted to make something special.
Another friend recently gifted us A TON of Meyer lemons. I couldn’t be happier, I have been trying all sorts of new recipes with them…..last night I made meyer lemon sorbet with the new-ish ice cream maker I bought at the Hospice thrift store…..another funny thing, my brother actually gave me a gift certificate to the local thrift store to Christmas, that is so like him…….but anyhow, I scored this great ice cream maker and I can tell it is going to be my new obsession
Here are the recipes for the sorbet and cake I used. Mint spring will be the perfect compliment to this whole thing!!
Flourless Chocolate Cake
4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line bottom with a round of wax paper and butter paper.
Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.
Dust cake with additional cocoa powder and serve with sorbet if desired. (Cake keeps, after being cooled completely, in an airtight container, 1 week.)
This is a makeshift double boiler!
Meyer Lemon Sorbet Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup freshly squeezed juice from meyer lemons (about 3-4 lemons)
2 teaspoons fine lemon zest
Method
1 In a small saucepan on medium high heat, make a simple syrup by heating sugar and water until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool. Mix in the lemon juice and zest. Chill, either in the refrigerator, or by placing in a metal bowl over an ice bath.
2 Once the mixture has thoroughly chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can pour the mixture into a shallow pan and freeze in your freezer until semi-solid. Then take a fork and fluff it up, returning it the the freezer to freeze firm. Then put in a food-processor or blender to process until smooth.
Place sorbet in an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.
3 Scoop out preferably with a melon-baller. Garnish with mint. Makes 2 1/2 cups.
AND candied Meyer lemon peel is so delicious, easy to make, and a great way to use all parts of the fruit.
1.) Just score the lemons (or any other kind of citrus–especially mandarins) in quarters and carefully peel away the skin in as big of chunks as possible. 2.) Put the skin chunks in a small saucepan, covered with cold water, and bring the water just to a boil. Repeat this blanching process with cold water turning to hot 3 or 4 times to rid the peels of their bitterness. 3.) Drain the peels and scrape off the mushy white part…if it doesn’t easily come off, just leave it. 4.) Julienne the peels into thin strips. 5.) Put the strips in a saucepan and add 1 cup of sugar for each cup and a half of peel, and then cover the whole sticky mess with water. 6.) Simmer it for an hour or so. Once the water reaches 220 degrees farenheit (or the rind is turning translucent), remove them to dry on a drying rack with tongs. Reserve the sugary liquid for all sorts of things…to add to vodka for a limoncello treat, for a pancake/waffle/crepe syrup, to drizzle over ice cream, short bread, or pound cake…what else??? 7.) Leave the peels to dry over night on the rack. The next day, gently roll them in sugar–I like to use the unbleached, raw kind. They will keep for months in a jar and make a lovely gift by themselves, or a delicate garnish for anything lemony–especially a Meyer lemon tart or Wendy’s lemon sorbet!