Hermes Lemon Cream

[Velma]

I ordered the book which contains this recipe and it didn't come in time so I think I found the recipe on the internet. It says to strain the cream and then let it cool before blenderizing. I'm just curious as to why you need to strain it because I've never made a cream like this before.

[kaneel]

I make this all the time...i think the reason is to strain out any eggs that may have scrambled on the sides of the bowl during the process and ofcourse the lemon zest. I actually took some out today from the fridge .

Edited September 14, 2006 by kaneel (log)

[Shaya]

I ordered the book which contains this recipe and it didn't come in time so I think I found the recipe on the internet.  It says to strain the cream and then let it cool before blenderizing.  I'm just curious as to why you need to strain it because I've never made a cream like this before.

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I believe there is lemon zest in there, no? If you use a fine grater there is no need to strain.

[SweetSide]

First time I made it, I forgot to strain out the zest. It wasn't perfectly smooth, but with all that blender action, it was smooth. I suppose if you want it smoother, strain out the zest. It also gets out the chalazae (those white strands that come off the yolk.)

[Patrick S]

I've strained it and not strained it, and I prefer the strained version. Even with several minutes of immersion blending, I find the zest quite noticable and not desirable.

[gfron1]

Same here...whatever the very slight chunks are in the cream are gone after straining making for a very nice lemon cream.

[Mottmott]

Here's a second question on technique.

This time about the glaze. Though I'd made this tart before, I hadn't used Herme's glaze which calls for Oetker's glaze (which I've never used). Everything seemed to be going fine but when I started to apply it to the tart, I barely managed to cover the lemon cream with glaze before the glaze started to gel too firmly to use. It was still somewhat warm when this happened. Fortunately, I did manage to get it covered and it even looked good. The one deviation was that I brought the water-zest-sugar mixture higher than 104f, so I took it off heat and brought the temperature down before proceding. When completely cool, the glaze is completely gelled and would not be spreadable. The recipe calls for the glaze to be cooled before applying, but if I'd waited for that I would not be spreadable. The texture of the gel when I ate some of the tart seemed fine.

Regarding straining: I made this tart before, and though I did not glaze it, I did strain it. This time I didn't strain it, but I don't think it made much difference. (Perhaps because of my super new, first time time used to make this tart, processor.) My firsat version tasted very good, but not quite balanced enough to my taste, more creamy than lemony. This time I used about 20-25% more lemon zest. I did not increase the amount of lemon juice. I think the added zest made the tart better.

My flub, whatever it was, didn't bother anyone but me. Everyone at the party today loved it - so much I barely got a taste even though there were more than a dozen desserts including seven other pies.