Crema di Limoncello
Balmy summer nights come with long hours spent chatting with friends post-supper, says a slightly tipsy Mona Farrugia. This Crema di Limoncello is a refreshing yet comforting way to end a meal.
Information
| Main Ingredient | Lemons |
| Preparation Time | Up to 15 mins: Quick |
| Cooking Time | Less than 30 mins |
| Course | Liqueur |
| Recipe Serves | 12 |
| Recipe Type | Liqueur |
To make Vanilla Sugar, place your used vanilla pods in normal unbleached sugar and leave to seep for at least a week.
To make the low-carb version, do the same thing with sweetener.
6 local lemons [do not use waxed lemons]
400ml fresh cream
400g vanilla sugar [place your used vanilla bean pods in normal unbleached sugar and leave to seep for at least a week]
Wash the lemons.
Using a Microplane or a zester, zest the lemon rind without touching the white part. Place the zest in a large, sealable jar and upend the contents of the bottle of alcohol over it. Leave to seep for a week.
Heat the cream slowly [do not boil] and add the sugar. Stir until it melts. Cool. Open the jar of peel and alcohol carefully [the alcohol creates a pressure inside the jar] and pour in the sugar and the fresh cream. Close the container and shake well to mix. Sieve all into individual bottles and place in the freezer. The pure alcohol will stop the mix from freezing and the cold will keep the cream from turning rancid.
If you want to make a low-carb version of this it is very possible: just use 200 grams of sweetener instead of the sugar, having prepared it with vanilla beans in exactly the same way.
Comments
I tried this recipe with some minor adjustments and the result was the best Crema di Limoncello I have ever tasted.
I used a potato peeler to peel the zest off my lemons.
I steeped my lemon zest in the alcohol for 3 weeks as I believe the longer the better in order to get stronger flavour and colour.
I used cheap Lidl vodka rather than 95% alcohol. A result of this weaker alcohol content is that the Crema di Limoncello actually freezes and needs defrosting for a while.
I used a teaspoon of high quality vanilla essence rather than vanilla sugar.
