A Dessert You Can Salute

When Julia Child “retired” from her cooking shows, she was often the “guest” of some aspiring, young chef.  I know how she felt when my friend, Grace, walked into my farm kitchen and declared: “I want to make dessert tonight.”

I said, “Whoop-de-doo?” During the next half hour, I watched as she methodically assembled the ingredients.

“What are we making?” I asked, using the royal ‘we,’ although I was only a spectator.

“Lemon Raspberry Parfait,” she said, explaining that the original recipe used the word Fluff. But she preferred Parfait instead.

I agreed. “Parfait is a lot classier. Fluff sounds like the name of a Yorkshire Terrier.”

When Grace recited the recipe, I asked, “Where did you buy the lemon curd?”

“I couldn’t find any in Rolla, so I’m going to make my own.”

You Go, Girl!

Grace whips up a batch of lemon curd. She used real lemons, but had to augment it bit with the bottled juice..

A Ten Minute Summer Dessert—Well, Almost

Now, I’ve bought lemon curd in a glass jar, ready-to-use. But I’ve never made it from scratch. So I paid attention. There were several steps involved, but she whizzed through them easily.

As a holiday bonus, she made the dessert red, white and blue. But there’s no need to wait for the 4th of July or Memorial Day to enjoy the tangy-fruity-silky parfait. You can easily use strawberries, bananas, peaches, or raspberries–or any combination. 

Recipe for Lemon Raspberry Fluff Parfait

This is the recipe that Grace used for the Parfait. It’s perfect, but all the better when you use your own lemon curd.

What Is Lemon Curd and How to Use It?

Lemon curd is a custard-like dessert spread or topping made with lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, egg yolks, and butter.

It can be spread on scones, pancakes or used as a topping for ice cream, a filing for crepes or tarts, and between cake layers. Lemon curd freezes well and can be kept refrigerated for up to a month.

Take a look at this recipe for making your own lemon curd.