Meyer Lemon Curd Semifreddo

5 from 3 votes

Meyer Lemon Curd Semifreddo

Keep a bunch of these in your freezer for a quick treat. The small size is offset by the big punch of lemon flavor. Surprisingly satisfying for such a small cup!

Prep Time2

Cook Time5

Freeze3

Total Time2 5

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American, Italian, Mediterranean

Keyword: comfort, foodie, frozen, Lemon, meyer, semifreddo, treat

Servings: portions

Calories: 187kcal

Author: BlakOpal

Ingredients

Lemon Curd

4 Egg yolks
1 cup Sugar extra fine
1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice fresh squeezed
1 Tbsp Lemon zest finely grated
pinch Salt
Ice optional

Cream Base

1 pint Whipping cream
1/4 cup Powdered sugar sifted
10 oz Creme fraiche
1 tsp Vanilla bean paste

Tools

Juicer
Microplane for zesting
Silicone whisk
Silicone spatula
Instant Pot
2 cup Pyrex measuring cup
Heatproof bowl that fits in instant pot
Silicone lid
Silicone trivet with handles
Second bowl for ice optional
Stand mixer with whisk attachment
Sifter
15 4-oz Glass canning jars

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Lemon Curd

Gather ingredients and tools.
Using 1-2 Meyer Lemons, lightly scrape the zest. You want to get just the yellow part of the zest. The white pith is bitter, so try not to get any of that. You will need about 1 Tbsp of the zest.
Using fresh Meyer Lemons, slice in half and juice 2-3 lemons until you have 1/2 cup of juice.
In a glass bowl that will fit in your Instant Pot, add egg yolks, sugar, and lemon juice.
Whisk until well combined and smooth.
Add lemon zest and stir to combine.
Cover the bowl with the silicone lid, making sure it is tight. Place on Silicone trivet with handles.
Put 1 cup of water in your instant pot and lower the bowl into the pot.
Cook on manual, high pressure for 5 minutes. Then leave in the pot for a full 10 minutes. (Note, the pin will drop before the time is up, that's fine. Just leave it in the pot, closed for the full 10 minutes.
Lift the trivet from the pot, and carefully open the silicone lid. It will look a little speckled on top.
Use your silicone whisk and stir the curd to mix well.
You will be able to see if the curd is thickening by testing on the back of a spoon.
The curd may appear thin. That's okay, it will thicken as it cools.
Tip: If you are making your curd ahead of time, you can put it into a mason jar (or two if you have doubled the recipe like I usually do!) Let it cool completely, then cover and put in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. When you take it out of the fridge, give it a stir before adding it to your cream base.
The curd must be completely cooled before you can combine it to make the semifreddo. A quick way to cool it is to take a larger bowl and fill it with some ice, and set your curd bowl in it.
Using a silicone scraper, stir and scrape around the bowl occasionally as the mixture cools. While the curd is cooling you can begin with the cream base.

Cream Base

Set up your stand mixer with a whisk attachment.
In the bowl of the mixer, add the heavy cream. Turn it on medium-high for a minute or two till it begins to look frothy. Turn off the mixer.
Sift the powdered sugar into cream.
Turn the mixer on and combine powdered sugar into the cream. Turn the mixer off and scrape sides of the bowl, making sure all of the sugar is incorporated. Resume beating the heavy cream on medium-high.
Keep an eye on the cream! It will quickly go from sloshing around like liquid to getting thicker. Eventually you will be able to see lines in the cream that don't sink back in. Stop the mixer and scrape around the edges. Test the thickness by scooping the cream with your spatula. The cream should stand up and not droop. If it is still a bit soft, give it another minute. Test again.
Do not overbeat! If you beat it too much the solids will separate and it will begin to look chunky. You are looking for stiff, but still smooth whipped cream. (See video below for reference)
Into the whipped cream, add the creme fraiche and vanilla bean paste. Mix on low for a few seconds to combine.
Remove your cooled lemon curd from the ice bowl or fridge, and give it a stir to loosen it up. Pour it into the whipped cream mixture and mix for a few seconds on low. Remove bowl from the mixer.
With your silicone spatula, fold the mixture. Gently scoop from the bottom as you turn it over. Repeat until you don't see any more lemon curd streaks. Don't beat the mixture! You are trying to stir it without losing the light and fluffy whipped cream texture.

Fill your cups

Set up your cups, and using a large serving spoon fill each one almost to the top.
Don't fill the cups too much or they will be hard to open when they are frozen.
Clean off the top edges and sides of the cups. Making sure they are clean and dry.
Screw the lids on. I like to leave them a bit loose, and then tighten them more once they are frozen.
Stack the cups in the freezer. They will take about 3 hours to be soft-frozen. You can keep them in the freezer and grab them as you want.
I like to eat these semi-frozen when I eat them, so I remove the lid and pop the cup in the microwave for 12 seconds (test timing with your microwave).
Enjoy!

Nutrition