Lemon Curd Fool with Summer Berry Salsa

Lemon Curd Fool with Summer Berry Salsa

I went to LA and met someone I have admired for years on instagram, not only for his beautiful photos of delicious food, but also his generosity and quickness to laugh and enjoy himself while he works. Donal and Sofie Skehan are even more delightful, funny and inviting in person than they appear on instagram, which is a nearly impossible statement. We chatted like old friends as their adorable son, Noah, smashed strawberry, after strawberry into his eager mouth. We then set out to create a Lemon Curd Fool with Summer Berry Salsa. First we went into his yard to pick the lemons off the tree, as one does in LA. I had so much fun and at the end we got to eat our delicious dessert together. Such a wonderful visit and you can watch Donal and I FOOLing around in the kitchen on his incredible YouTube channel (video below) and I’ve shared the lemon curd fool recipe there as well. 

Mile-High Lime Meringue Tart

Mile-High Lime Meringue Tart | ZoeBakes photo by Zoë François

This Mile-High Lime Meringue Tart is the more sophisticated cousin to the Lemon Meringue Pie. It has all the tartness of lemon, but with lime, which I just find a touch more interesting. Don’t get me wrong, I am in LOVE with the lemon version, but this one just sings to me. I used a lime curd as the base of my tart, then topped it with so much meringue that it touches the sky. Of course, and you all know why I love this tart so much…I get to use my blow torch to toast the top. If you don’t have a blow torch by now, I urge you to get one, but you can also use your gas broiler, although it won’t come out nearly as evenly toasted. 

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Mango Curd Tart

Mango Curd Tart | photo by Zoë François

In a quest to create the perfect mango cheesecake, I discovered mango puree from the Indian market. I’ve tried making my own with fresh mangos, but the flavor was much too subtle and disappeared in most recipes. I even tried cooking it, to reduce the fruit, which usually works to intensify the flavor. But, it just made the mango taste like squash.

So, I asked the internet and my community taught me the ways of tinned (canned) mango puree, which is apparently a known and beloved ingredient in India. There are many types of mangos and the Indian market had them all in puree, so I tried them all. They are mostly sweetened, but I did manage to find one that wasn’t and it was amazing. If all you can find is the sweetened version, you can reduce the sugar in the recipe by a bit.

The mango cheesecake was a big hit and I had lots of the puree left over, so I went to work creating more desserts with it. This mango curd tart is the lucky result of that abundance of tinned mango. The curd is made just as you would a lemon curd, but I used a combination of mango and lime. It makes very little sense, but the lime makes the mango taste more like mango and not just cloyingly sweet. Slow cooking the curd over a double boiler is the key to the satiny texture.

You can watch my video of this mango curd tart on my Instagram page.

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Lemon Mascarpone Crêpe Cake

Lemon Mascarpone Crêpe Cake | photo by Zoë François

Crêpes are a beloved food group in my household. My boys have grown up eating them with everything from sweet to savory fillings, sometimes dozens at a time. When I couldn’t get them to eat as little kids I’d make a batch of crêpes and watch as they disappeared. Stacking them into a crêpe cake is an easy and elegant way to dress up what is really a humble street food in France. This version was made from a really sweet book called Simply Citrus by Marie Asselin. I “met” her on Instagram and she kindly sent me a copy of the book. I adore instagram for all the inspiration and for the space to create videos of the recipes I make. You can watch me make Marie’s cake in my instagram stories.

Marie’s lemon curd is unlike any I’ve made before. She cooks it like a pastry cream, which uses cornstarch and eggs to bind it and then finishes it with heavy cream. It is delightful. I suggest you double her recipe, so you can have some left over after the cake is filled. The combination of the tart lemon curd and rich mascarpone cream are a perfect marriage. Instead of topping with more cream, I went with the brûlée on top. I like the contrast of texture and you know how I feel about my blow torch, so any excuse to use it. 

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Lemon Meringue Cake for Mother’s Day – How-to Video: piping roses

Piped Meringue Roses | ZoeBakes | Photo by Zoë François

These meringue roses remind me of fine porcelain china, dainty and ultra feminine. Perfect on an occasion that requires something spectacular, even a bit over-the-top. Mother’s Day is one such time. It is the day when we give thanks to the women who raised us. I have been blessed with more than my fair share of extraordinary women, who have influenced how I walk through this world. They have shown me great generosity, shared their wisdom and loved me unconditionally. I only hope to possess these same qualities as I now raise my own children. I wanted to create something as unique and beautiful as these women, to reflect my deep appreciation, so lemon meringue cake it is.

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Lemon Curd Cheesecake

www.craftsy.com/ext/ZoFranois_10284_H

I have a bunch of classes on Craftsy, including “Show-Stopping Cheesecakes!” To find any of my classes on the platform, just type Zoe Francois in to the search bar and you will find all three of my courses.

I’ve done an “Artisan Bread in Minutes” baking class based on the Master recipe from my book The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and I created an intensive Baking and Pastry class for beginners, which will help you feel confident with all of your family recipes or those beautiful treats you see on Pinterest. I hope I will see you in one, or all of my Craftsy classes.

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