David Lebovitz’s ethereal lemon cream is a wonderful topping for ginger cake or gingerbread, whether you bake David Lebovitz’s Fresh Ginger Cake or Claudia Fleming’s Stout Ginger Cake or old-fashioned Gingerbread. First you make a lemon curd, then you make whipped cream, and finally you blend them together.
1/2 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
To make the lemon curd, David takes a daredevil approach by heating everything together over direct heat. Why daredevil? If you overheat the mixture, the eggs will cook into chunks of scrambled egg rather than the smooth creamy texture you want. Be very careful to cook your lemon curd slowly and you really do need to whisk constantly.
Place a mesh strainer over a bowl, and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, eggs, and salt.
Add the butter cubes and set the pan over low heat, whisking constantly until the butter is melted.
Increase the heat carefully and cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and just begins to become jelly-like. It’s done when you lift the whisk and the mixture holds its shape when it falls back into the saucepan from the whisk.
Immediately press the curd through the strainer. Once strained, store the lemon curd in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to one week.
1 cup heavy cream
Whisk the cream with a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment (or in a bowl by hand) until it forms soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the chilled lemon curd.