Lemon & Raspberry Verrine

I had to look up “verrine”. It’s a layered dish (French in origin, obviously) sweet or savory.

Fast Ed made a great dessert recently on Better Homes and Gardens. It caught my eye because it looked like it would taste good but also (mainly?) because it used some key ingredients from my back yard: eggs and lemons. Two things I have aplenty right now. Check out the sources of my bounty below.

Lemon tree laden with fruit and flowers

Chickens laden with eggs

It also calls for berries. I bought frozen raspberries but I’m confident that soon I’ll have enough mulberries and/or strawberries to replace the store-bought berries.

Here’s the recipe for Lemon and Raspberry Verrine.

Prepare Lemon Butter (or Curd)

Whisk in a double boiler for 10 minutes to thicken:

– zest & juice of 3 lemons

– 4 eggs

– 3/4 cup sugar

– 125 grams butter

Strain through sieve to get rid of the zest and any seeds.

Prepare Crumble

Mix with hands:

– 1/2 cup brown sugar

– 1/2 cup flour

– 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

– 75 grams butter

Spread on lined baking tray and bake at 180 C for 15 minutes, until crisp.

Prepare Raspberry Sauce

Cook 5 minutes over low heat:

– 2 cups raspberries (or any berry)

– 1/4 cup sugar

Let curd, crumble and raspberry sauce cool.

Place large glasses in refrigerator to chill.

In each glass add layers of custard, then crumble, then sauce. Top with crumble and decorate with a berry and/or mint leaf.

Refrigerate glasses until verrine is firm.

Serve chilled.

Wow is this an amazing dessert. It’s impressive to look at, tastes fresh and light AND is rich and sickeningly heavy. It’s deceptively high in calories. Your taste buds tell you you’re eating berries and lemon but really you’re munching down on butter and sugar. DANGER, DANGER!

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