Lemon delights
Famous Campanian sweets featuring soft sponge cake domes filled with a delightful Amalfi lemon cream, finished with a silky glaze and lemon zest.
Equipment
Ingredients
Dome batter
Eggs (at room temperature) (room_temperature)
100 g
Egg yolks (at room temperature) (room_temperature)
12 g
Sugar
67 g
Type 00 flour (sifted)
31 g
Potato starch (sifted)
24 g
Vanilla bean
1 piece
Lemon peel (zest_only)
1 piece
Lemon-infused cream
Heavy cream
720 ml
Sugar
67 g
Lemon peel (zest_only)
2 piece
Limoncello syrup
Water
38 ml
Sugar
31 g
Limoncello
80 ml
Lemon peel (zest_only)
2 piece
Lemon cream
Egg yolks
60 g
Sugar
67 g
Lemon juice
80 ml
Butter (softened)
75 g
Vanilla bean
1 piece
Lemon peel (zest_only)
1 piece
Pastry cream
Whole milk
180 ml
Heavy cream
80 ml
Egg yolks
80 g
Sugar
67 g
Cornstarch
16 g
Vanilla bean
1 piece
Fine salt
1 g
Lemon peel (zest_only)
3 piece
Assembly
Limoncello
60 ml
Whole milk
60 ml
Lemon peel (zest_only)
3 piece
Instructions
Infuse heavy cream with lemon
Pour the cream into a bowl or pitcher, add the sugar, remove the peel from the lemons using a vegetable peeler (avoid the bitter white part), add them to the cream, mix with a whisk, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator at 4°C for at least 12 hours.
Prepare dome batter
Pour the eggs and egg yolks into the bowl of a planetary mixer. Both must be at room temperature (18-20°C). Add the sugar and start beating at moderate speed using the whisk.
Add lemon zest and vanilla to batter
Grate the lemon zest and add it to the whipped cream along with the seeds from the vanilla bean. Beat the mixture for a total of 10-11 minutes, taking care not to overdo it.
Sift dry ingredients
Sift both the starch and the flour onto a sheet of parchment paper, then move the sheet around to mix the powders together.
Fold in dry ingredients
Once the eggs are whipped to the right consistency, add the sifted powders, mixing from the bottom up using a spatula until they are completely incorporated.
Bake the domes
Using a strainer, transfer the mixture into a lightly greased Formaflex mold (each ball 8 cm in diameter) and bake in a conventional oven at 170°C for 28 minutes. As soon as they are cooked and golden brown, remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Prepare limoncello syrup
Remove the peel from the lemon using a peeler. Pour the water and sugar into a small saucepan and add the lemon zest. Heat slightly without boiling until sugar is completely dissolved.
Finish limoncello syrup
Turn off the heat, add the limoncello, and leave to steep for at least 1 hour. Then remove the lemon zest and leave to cool completely.
Prepare lemon cream base
Zest half a lemon. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze them to get the juice. Transfer both juice and zest to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
Temper egg yolks for lemon cream
Place the egg yolks in a bowl along with the sugar and vanilla bean. Stir quickly with a whisk. As soon as the lemon juice begins to boil, pour it into the yolk mixture, stir and transfer back to the saucepan.
Cook lemon cream
Cook until it reaches 80°C while continuing to stir slowly with a spatula. Transfer to a bowl to prevent overcooking and remove the lemon peel.
Finish lemon cream
Once the cream reaches 40°C, add the softened butter and blend using an immersion blender to obtain a smooth consistency. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Prepare pastry cream base
Pour the milk and heavy cream into a small saucepan. Add the seeds from the vanilla bean, the pod, and the lemon zest, and bring to a boil.
Mix pastry cream ingredients
Pour the cornstarch, sugar, and salt into a bowl. Mix well using a spoon and add the egg yolk. Mix quickly with a whisk until the mixture is smooth.
Cook pastry cream
As soon as the milk and cream come to a boil, transfer them to the yolk mixture, mix, and return everything to the saucepan. Cook, continuing to stir with a spatula until the temperature reaches 85°C.
Cool pastry cream
Transfer the mixture to a large, shallow casserole dish, remove both the lemon peel and the vanilla bean, cover with clear plastic wrap, and leave to cool in the freezer.
Whip lemon-infused cream
Take the liquid cream that was left in the refrigerator to steep, remove the lemon zest, and whip all of this lemon-infused liquid cream using a hand mixer.
Combine creams for filling
Transfer 430g of pastry cream to a bowl and add the limoncello. Whisk together before adding 280g of lemon cream. Whisk again, and only at the end add 300g of the lemon-infused whipped cream. Whisk to blend everything into a smooth, consistent cream.
Fill the domes
Gently remove the small domes from the mold, return them to the mold and using the pastry bag pierce the base and fill the small domes with plenty of cream. The leftover cream will be used to make the glaze.
Soak domes with syrup
Turn them out again and transfer to a tray. Soak them with the limoncello sauce. It may be easier to transfer this to a sauce bottle beforehand. Place the domes in the freezer for at least 1 hour.
Prepare glaze
Take the leftover filling, add 300g of whipped cream and mix together. Add the cold milk a little at a time and mix to achieve a smooth, fluid consistency. Adjust the amount of milk depending on the consistency of the cream.
Glaze and decorate
Dip each dome into the cream before removing any excess and transferring them to a plate. Decorate with the remaining cream and lemon zest. Return to the refrigerator and leave to rest for at least 6 hours before serving.
Storage
Store in refrigerator covered. Best consumed within 3 days. Do not freeze after assembly.
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