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Lemon Delight

17/11/2023

Lemon Delight is a classic Campanian dessert, especially from the Amalfi Coast. Here’s how to make it.

Ingredients

For the lemon sponge cake:

  • 5 eggs
  • 150 g of sugar
  • 150 g of type 00 flour
  • Grated zest of 1 untreated lemon

For the lemon syrup:

  • 100 ml of water
  • 50 g of sugar
  • Juice of 1 lemon

For the lemon cream:

  • 500 ml of milk
  • Zest of 3 lemons
  • 150 g of sugar
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 40 g of cornstarch
  • 250 g of fresh cream

For the topping and decoration:

  • 250 g of fresh cream
  • 30 g of powdered sugar
  • Candied lemon peel or thin strips of lemon zest for decoration

Preparation

Lemon sponge cake:

  1. Whisk the egg yolks with half of the sugar until you have a light and foamy mixture.
  2. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks with the remaining sugar.
  3. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture.
  4. Add the sifted flour and grated lemon zest.
  5. Pour the batter into a buttered and floured mold.
  6. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 30 minutes.
  7. Let cool and then cut into discs or bases for the delight.

Lemon syrup: 8. Bring water to a boil with sugar and let cool. 9. Add the lemon juice.

Lemon cream: 10. Boil the milk with the lemon zest. 11. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with sugar, then add the cornstarch. 12. Remove the lemon zest from the milk and pour the hot milk onto the yolk mixture, stirring well. 13. Cook the cream over low heat until it thickens, then let it cool. 14. Whip the cream and gently fold it into the cooled cream.

Assembly: 15. Moisten the sponge cake discs with the lemon syrup. 16. Layer the lemon sponge cake and cream, ending with cream. 17. Let it rest in the fridge.

Decoration: 18. Whip the fresh cream with powdered sugar and cover the surface of the delight to give it a pleasant and snowy appearance. 19. Decorate with lemon zest strips.

Fun Fact

Legend has it that the Lemon Delight was born by mistake, when a pastry chef combined leftover ingredients in the kitchen, accidentally creating this dessert that would become a symbol of the Amalfi Coast’s pastry tradition.

Lemon Delight