Directions

Lemon Curd:

Begin by washing and drying the lemons. If you have the time, leave the lemons on the counter overnight before you begin the recipe—they will be easier to juice. Before you juice the lemons, remove 3-4 strips of lemon peel and set aside for the

candied almond recipe below. Grate another 2 lemons and set aside 1 heaping tablespoon of grated peel for the almond cake recipe below. Set aside a bowl and a strainer to strain the lemon curd after it has finished cooking.

Crack five whole large eggs into a bowl. Juice the lemons and measure 1 cup of lemon juice. Add the lemon juice to the bowl with the eggs. Measure the sugar and add to the bowl. Add a pinch of kosher salt and whisk. Continue whisking until the mixture

is well combined.

Add the ingredients to a heavy-bottomed stainless pan. Grab a whisk that will enable you to get into the edges of the pan. Turn the heat on medium and begin whisking and do so continuously. Add the butter and keep stirring/whisking for 7-10 minutes as the mixture thickens considerably. When you start to see a bubble or two come to the surface, remove the pot from the heat and strain the curd into the reserved bowl. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface so it will cool without forming a ‘skin’ on top. Refrigerate when cooled. (Extra curd will keep for 10 days, refrigerated.)

Candied Almonds:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Add the water and sugar to a small stainless saucepan. Add a pinch of salt and the lemon peel to the pot as well. (Note: Use a sharp vegetable peeler to remove the strips of peel without the white pith underneath.) Stir/whisk to dissolve the sugar and bring mixture to a simmer. Keep stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Simmer for 5-8 minutes or until the syrup has some thickness; it should have the density of maple syrup. Remove pot from heat and let cool for 1-2 minutes. Remove the pieces of lemon peel. Gently mix in the cup of almonds and let sit in the syrup for 4-5 minutes to absorb the sugar syrup. Strain the almonds into a bowl and then spread them out on a quarter-sheet pan that is lined with parchment paper. Bake for 5-8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove pan from oven and let nuts cool completely without ‘disturbing’ them. They will cool and harden in clumps (Note: Save the excess syrup. It will be used to sweeten the whipped cream later.)

Almond Loaf Cake:

Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

1 loaf pan, 9x5-inches

Parchment paper for lining the bottom and long sides of the pan

1 tablespoon softened butter for greasing the pan

Prepare the pan: Butter the bottom and sides of the baking pan. Line the bottom and the long sides with a piece of parchment paper that comes up the long sides and hangs over the edges by about 1-inch. Butter the pan again. Dust the pan with almond flour and tap out any excess. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the five egg yolks together with ¾ cup of sugar and a pinch of kosher salt until the mixture thickens, 1-2 minutes. Add the grated lemon peel and the vanilla and lemon extracts. Mix to combine. Add the almond flour and mix until just combined. Set this batter aside.

Add the 6 egg whites to another mixing bowl. (Make sure that the bowl is clean, greasefree and dry.) Add the second pinch of salt to the egg whites. Use the whisk attachment and beat the whites until they are ‘frothy’, about 1 minute. Keep whisking

and begin to slowly add the reserved ¼ cup of sugar and beat until the whites hold soft, medium peaks.

Take about one-third of the amount of beaten whites and add to the reserved batter from above. Use a spatula to stir in the whites to loosen and lighten the batter. Add the rest of the egg whites and fold the whites over and over again, gently to combine both mixtures completely.

Spoon or pour the batter into the prepared pan, tap gently to even out the batter in the pan. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out almost dry. Remove cake from the oven and let cool on a rack for 10-20 minutes. Lift the cake out of the pan by using the parchment ‘overhang’ on the sides. Let cool completely before cutting. (At least 2 hours)

Assembly:

In a chilled bowl with a whisk, beat 1 cup of heavy cream or whipping cream with 1 tablespoon or more or the reserved candied-almond-sugar-syrup. (Or add 1 tablespoon of white sugar.) Whip the cream to soft peaks. Keep chilled.

Cut the cooled cake into 5-6 slices, each about 1 ½-inches thick. You can trim off the crusts if you’d like. Then cut the slices into even 1 ½-inch strips and the cut the strips into 1 ½-inch cubes. Set aside.

Gather the ingredients: the lemon curd, the cubed cake pieces, the whipped cream and the candied almonds.

Choose 4-6 glasses or coupe-shaped bowls for building the parfaits. Spoon a tablespoon of lemon curd into each glass. Add several pieces of cubed cake to each glass. Add another spoonful of lemon curd. Add whipped cream and top with pieces of candied almonds.

(Note: All the ingredients except for the whipped cream could be made in advance and held until ‘day-of’ assembly.)