Thursday, February 26, 2015

Lemon Posset Shortcakes






Since these delectable little lemon posset shortcakes only beckon sweetly, how would one know that they are actually approaching the sublime? 
As Rose says about her enlightening experience with Ann Bridges at Restaurant Alma, the lemon posset offers a "pure and clean flavor." It is a "soft lemon cream . . . that relies  entirely on the acidity of the Meyer lemon juice to set the cream" (p. 111).

I am not so naive as to disbelieve Roses's observations. I never cease to admire her expertise and choices. Therefore, I looked forward to another delightful experience of learning to create what she had so beautifully described. I was not disappointed.

                               The mis en place was simple.

         The batter took very little time. Wondra flour. Sugar, eggs. 



The beurre noisette for that extra 'je ne sais quoi'. "Burned butter" as Hector calls it. And wonderful vanilla. As usual I found myself wondering which takes longer, beurre noisette or lemon curd. 



     The design of the Marianne pan is delightful. I have had it since RHB. However, I think I did not put enough Baker's Joy into its crevices, and this possibly caused my little cakes want to stick and then be crumbly. I do intend to acquire the larger size of the Marianne pan in order to have more support for the distinctive basket-weave on the cakes. In this case there are two layers of syrup/glaze that would diminish the sharpness of the design anyway. The cakes have wonderful lightness, and flavor. 


Sinking slightly and coming slightly away from sides.

I now recall that I laid out the mis en place and baked the cakes the night before I completed the balance of this recipe. Is that why they are crumbly? They had plastic on them~

                                                     *

                    The next evening - the ahead less planned --

Rose had cautioned: Plan ahead. Okay. I have a tendency to say Okay to Rose, and then not to look beyond her caution to reality. And so:
  
     The next evening, after work, I began the preparation of the lemon syrup, apple glaze, and the posset. This whole procedure turned out to be rather tedious in that there were 3 hours between the lemon syruping of the cakes and the apple glazing; and then 30 minutes after the apple glazing. I had a small cake casualty, so I shored it up with a toothpick, later filled it with posset - and ate it.







         [I even ate many 1/4 tsps of the apple jelly glaze  -omg]
                        the poor catastrophy

Meanwhile the posset was made, and then it required 3-4 hours of refrigeration to set up. 
                                                Heaven

     And then, allowing 1 hour after placing the first layer of posset in the cavities of the cakes, add the second layer and wait at least 2 more hours to set the second layer. Finally, at that time, I simply set the completed cakes into a domed cake carrier and refrigerated them. Decidedly, it would have been smarter to do all the 'time-outs' during the day when extra time could be put to better use than trying to stay awake until 0430.



     I had zested the lemons, rubbed the zest in sugar, and left it for a day on a plate in the oven with the light on. Perfect. Then I ground it in a mortar and pestle, sieving it three times. It was like lemony faerie dust, and I sprinkled it all over the cakes and the serving plates.
     
     At this morning's gathering, I smiled as I watched the small ladies group fairly swoon before my eyes after a taste of the lemon posset shortcakes! Although the cakes had a somewhat disheveled appearance they did look happily apple-sticky-glazed and who could resist that? The ladies were intrigued by the combination of the apple glaze and the lemon syrup, and enchanted by the creamy posset with the inflection of the Myer lemon that adds such a special clear note. I had enjoyed mine with the casualty earlier in the morning, of course. 

             Note to self: It would be more sensible next time to make a triple recipe of these fantasticated cakes. 
            Note to self: Listen to Rose.

                                                    *        

  

22 comments:

  1. Your blog is quite elusive Joan! But I've found you now. Your cakes look lovely, particularly with the lemon sugar dust. I hope the ladies appreciated your 4.30am bedtime!

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  2. Funny! "..triple recipe..." That good, huh?! I've been dreading making these but you made it sound easy so today will be the day, no more stalling. I've loved your pan for a long time. Have you made other recipes with it that hold the shape? I thought it would come in useful for strawberry shortcake in the summer. But the larger one is gorgeous, too.

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  3. Funny! "..triple recipe..." That good, huh?! I've been dreading making these but you made it sound easy so today will be the day, no more stalling. I've loved your pan for a long time. Have you made other recipes with it that hold the shape? I thought it would come in useful for strawberry shortcake in the summer. But the larger one is gorgeous, too.

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  4. Lol, yes, Phylliscaroline and Vicki, elusive, indeed. Nonexistent really - the five cakes I made were lost in the haze. But what a birthday present now. I am not sure where to say 'my post is up' but maybe I managed to do it.
    Yes the pan would be perfect for strawberry shortcakes. It would be great if someone here had it to see. I am eager to see your genoise results for this recipe. The posset is heavenly. Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to your postings!.

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  5. Joan.. looking good! You beat a bunch of us to an early post! Mine are still chilling and will be eaten tonight for sure... if they taste as great as all the components do, we got a winner.. a worthy anniversary gift to my husband.

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    1. They are truly delectable. The combination of the ingredients is incredible, you will see. He will be surprised it's so subtle. Do you have sparklers? I wanted to post early because it was my birthday present to me to finally get here, with your help. And because I am in stark terror about the breads. I cannot imagine what that is going to be like. Anyhow, Have a wonderful day tomorrow. Everyone will be smiling for you.

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  6. wonderful post for a wonderfully lemon posset !!! I love how your Lemon Sugar came out...

    I have to agree about how fragile this little shortcakes, I was little skeptical of flipping them of to cool down....

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  7. Your shortcakes look perfect presented on that little side table - looks like a Regency tea party! I love your sugared lemon zest too. What a delicious idea...I'll have to try that :)

    http://bakedtoorder.blogspot.com/2015/02/roses-alpha-bakers-lemon-posset.html

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  8. Congratulations on having your blog up!

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  9. Orins, I dont see yours. I have a strong feeling that the ones in the pyrex cupls are more packed and not so dependent upon the variabilities of the Marianne pan. Did you do yours in the pyrex? It could have been my genoise also. We will have to see how the scholars make out, Patricia and Raymond. I usually race by their digs before at tempting anything to see the tutorials that keep me out of trouble. In this case I wanted to get the post up.
    The lemon sugar dust that Rose mentioned was really nice. In the kitchen did you use it? I loved drying it in the oven with the light on for hours and then grinding it with mortar and pestle and sieving it.That was really fun.

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    1. I have used a shortcake pan I am assuming i didn't spray it enough...I love the lemon sugar it added much beauty and spark to these adorable cakes.

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  10. Joan, I too finally found your new blog! I didn't realise you changed to new blog again. :D I was wondering where your posts when to! :D Your lemon possets look great! Your photos look great!! Did you get a new camera?

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    1. Faithy you are always the first here.i should have let you know the nlog was down for 4 months😡I missed you! And all!

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  11. Lemon fairy dust. What a great idea! Wonderful tutorial. Under the weather so short on words today.

    Patricia @ ButterYum
    http://www.butteryum.org/roses-alpha-bakers/2015/2/19/lemon-posset-alma

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  12. ב''ה

    I agree to a triple recipe. I wonder what made your cake crumbly. They still look appetizing.

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  13. Joan, your lemon posset shortcakes look amazing! Love your story..the toothpick shortcake was the underdog here without question... Your presentation MAY have persuaded me to purchase the Nordic Marianne Shortcake pan after all - GREAT POST!

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  14. Thanks for your comments Mendy and Tony! I think the pan is gre at Tony, but I think there is a larger version I might like to try. If I use this a gain I think I will do something about the Baker's Joy. One of ous baked in this one that looked better than this. One can telll the difference and I spotted it right away. I do like the look of it better than the more pressed look of the pyrex verson. We used this for a 'bullseye in HB filled with ganache and cross hatched with ganache piping. It w as good-looking.

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  15. Ah, you made the lemon zest powder! I was too lazy to do that. I have the same pan and sprayed the crap out of it then brushed the crevices and they didn't stick at at all. Yours look wonderful.

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  16. Joan, love the look of your cakelettes with the gorgeous lemon sugar garnish! It was a lot of work but I do love the recipe! A real keeper!

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  17. You know the faerie sugar was so much fun - didn't take a minute to
    micro zest off the unpeeled lemons, mix with sugar, put on plate and put in oven with light on all night. It was amazing how nice and warm and dry it kept the zest and sugar. Fun grinding in the mortar and pestle that I never get to use.. sieve, And Presto change-0 -- lemon faerie dust. ; )

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  18. Somebody has been here!!!! I can publish without three empty boxes! OMG! THANK YOU THANK YOU, It has to be Monica, first guess, since she watches me God love her, or Tony who also watches me - You are so good! I hope I can help you one day when you least expect it <3

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  19. You know the faerie sugar was so much fun - didn't take a minute to
    micro zest off the unpeeled lemons, mix with sugar, put on plate and put in oven with light on all night. It was amazing how nice and warm and dry it kept the zest and sugar. Fun grinding in the mortar and pestle that I never get to use.. sieve, And Presto change-0 -- lemon faerie dust. ; )

    ReplyDelete