This delightful cream is guaranteed to get you tons of compliments from your very pleased guests. I serve it on special occasions – like Christmas or Easter, together with traditional Italian cakes like Pandoro, Panettone or Colomba (I find them too dry by themselves) but you can serve it with your favorite cake, like sponge cake or Angel Food Cake.
Or, if you want or must skip the carbs and gluten of cake, serve it in a cup (or in a martini glass) with a few curls of dark chocolate on top.
On top of all other qualities, this joy-of-the-palate is also gluten-free.
Ingredients:
(serves 8) A V Gf
- 4 organic egg yolks
- 4 Tbsp. sugar
- 2 Tbsp. of corn starch
- 4 cups of organic 2% milk
- a few drops of real vanilla extract
- 2 cups (1 pint) of organic heavy whipping cream
- the grated rind of 1 organic lemon.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Meanwhile, bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan. Remove it from heat and add the vanilla.
Wash the lemon and grate its rind; add it to beaten egg yolks.
A little at a time, incorporate the corn starch into the beaten egg yolks, stirring.
Transfer this mixture into a non-stick saucepan, add half a cup of hot milk, whisking with a hand whisk to avoid forming lumps. Put the saucepan on low heat, add the remaining milk a little at a time to avoid cooking the egg mixture and bring it to a boil, always stirring.
Cook for three to four minutes. The result must be a smooth sauce. Should any lumps form, you can strain the cream through a fine mesh colander or blend it with an immersion blender. Cool down the cream in an ice bath and refrigerate for at least three hours, covered with a plastic film in direct contact with the surface. You can prepare this base for your cream one or two days in advance, as long as you keep it refrigerated in an airtight container.
Right before serving, whip the whipping cream with an electric beater and fold it into the egg cream with a spatula. Serve cold.