Lemon Cream

How does a chef create a recipe? In Claudia Fleming’s case, the answer has changed over time. Back in her days at Gramercy Tavern in New York City, with a staff of 10 chefs, she reveled in complexity: “Any dessert without at least three components just wasn’t dessert,” she reminisces. These days, the pastry chef and cookbook author embraces simplicity. “There’s a desire to just make that one thing as perfect as you can,” she says. One recent creation is her twist on lemon curd: lemon cream, which introduces two key ingredients to transform the texture and enrich the flavor.

Classic curd is a combination of citrus zest and juice, egg yolks, sugar, salt, and butter. Fleming adds gelatin, heating it to a precise temperature to guarantee the mixture sets and to prevent separation. She also blends in olive oil in addition to butter, partly because she can’t resist adding a savory twist (her new cookbook, Delectable: Sweet and Savory Baking, from Random House, is full of them), but also because it’s silky. Butter can get grainy once it’s melted and re-chilled, but the inclusion of olive oil in the mix keeps the lemon cream luscious and smooth.

For perfect lemon cream, Fleming advises, take your time. “Wait for the temperature to cool all the way down to 130°F so it emulsifies well,” she says. “An instant-read thermometer is key to keeping an accurate read on the temperature, and the Lavatools Javelin Folding Thermometer ($36, jbprince.com) is my favorite.” Her other tip? “Choose the thinnest-skinned lemons for the juiciest yields,” she notes. “Steer clear of dense, hard, and oversized citrus, which are often drier, tougher fruits.”

Once you have a jar of lemon cream on hand, smear it on toast or pound cake (Fleming’s favorite), whip up a no-bake Lemon Cream Semifreddo with Blueberry Compote, or assemble the irresistible Lemon Cream Meringue Tart, a centerpiece fit for any winter gathering.