"Quenellable" lemon curd: any ideas?

[aidensnd2]

I'm trying to make a lemon curd that I can quenelle, any ideas on how to give it some body? All the curds I've made in the past were way too loose to quenelle.

Any thoughts would be great.

Thanks

[mexigaf]

My best guess would be that you need some kind of jelling agent. Maybe if you use some pectin, cornstarch or maybe even gelatin. If cool enough and the amounts are right it might hold up to a nice quenelle

[Ke Kau]

You could use .5 to 1.5% xanthan gum. You could even add up to 15% white chocolate and vary the ratio of xanthan gum to play with texture. The xanthan gum will give you stability with flexability, so to speak. A little pectin(.25-.75%) would also give stability, but too much would alter the texture of a traditional lemon curd. Methylcellulose would let you do it hot(.5-1%). A gum blend might help. Check out TIC Gums www.ticgums.com Let them know what you want to do and they'll make a suggestion. Very good people. Good luck. Let us know what you come up with.

[Chris Hennes]

Are you looking for something at room temp, or is refrigerated OK? The lemon curd I use, from Friberg's Professional Pastry Chef, seems to be firm enough to make quenelles with under refrigeration, anyway, though I haven't tried it myself. The only thickener in it is the egg: 8 eggs to 360 ml of lemon juice, plus sugar and a little butter.

Edited February 28, 2008 by Chris Hennes (log)

[jumanggy]

I think Herme's lemon cream when refrigerated can be quite quenellable

[gfron1]

That's my experience as well with PH's. I think Chris' question about room temp v. chilled is key since I would much rather have a curd held together by the chilled butter.

[Chris Hennes]

That's my experience as well with PH's.  I think Chris' question about room temp v. chilled is key since I would much rather have a curd held together by the chilled butter.

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That's a good point that I never thought of---it is the butter that causes it to firm up when cold. I never really questioned the functioning of the curd...

[JeanneCake]

it's a lot more work but you could use a mold to form the shape and keep them chilled until service. Use bloomed gelatin, add it when the curd is still warm. Your mileage may vary but start with 3 sheets per 2 cupcs curd.

I haven't used PH's recipe, or the one in Friberg; I use the curd recipes from RLB to flavor buttercream with or pour over cheesecakes; when I need a tart recipe, I add some whole eggs (an all yolk curd is pretty intense IMO, good for when it will be "diluted" but you get tired of it if you are trying to eat your way through a 4" tart.)

[CanadianBakin']

I think Herme's lemon cream when refrigerated can be quite quenellable

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That was my first thought as well although it thins out pretty quickly when stirred. You'd want to be very careful that it was handled as little as possible.

[aidensnd2]

This will be served cold. I love the PH curd, but it is too loose. As soon as you start working it it runs... I was tempted to try adding some Mycryo to it to get it to set up without the rubberiness of gelatin. Anyway, I tried Gale Gand's recipe today and I'll see how that is holding up tomorrow, it uses cornstarch and a bit of flour.Thanks

[gfron1]

I'm still voting for 'heavy on the butter,' and chilling it regardless of the base recipe.

[chezcherie]

if you froze it, quenelled it, then refrigerated it, might it hold? i feel like it might...

[Tri2Cook]

Sam Mason and Alex Stupak do sliceable curds but I've never read specifics on how they do it. I know the Ideas in Food folks were excited about it and did their own version, a sliceable grapefruit curd, with gelatin and it didn't look gummy at all in the pictures (probably has to do with the amount used). I can't imagine they'd be excited about a curd that was more like jello so they must have worked it out. I have no idea if it could be quenelled, looks like maybe it could though. I wonder if something like a little ultrasperse would do it? Hmmmm.

[Sethro]

Bring the lemon and the sugar to a boil with agar powder before adding the yolks. Once its chilled, process in vitamix like a fluid gel, then chill again. It should be fine. I always substitute part of the butter for white chocolate in my curds, and it seems to keep them from running on the plate too.

[aidensnd2]

Bring the lemon and the sugar to a boil with agar powder before adding the yolks. Once its chilled, process in vitamix like a fluid gel, then chill again. It should be fine. I always substitute part of the butter for white chocolate in my curds, and it seems to keep them from running on the plate too.

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Any idea what ratio of agar to use?

[sugarseattle]

i agree with the "more butter" I often add a touch more butter when I want a firmer pastry cream which is made with the same process, and it's nice because it doesn't get all "jello-like" which is what you risk if you use gelatin.

[Sethro]

Bring the lemon and the sugar to a boil with agar powder before adding the yolks. Once its chilled, process in vitamix like a fluid gel, then chill again. It should be fine. I always substitute part of the butter for white chocolate in my curds, and it seems to keep them from running on the plate too.

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Any idea what ratio of agar to use?

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I think my recipe called for 6g per 600ml of juice, so around 1%.