Lemon Berry Parfait

I love to end a meal with a nice sweet treat. Now that the warmer months are coming upon us, I'm always trying to come up with deserts that can be made without heating up your oven and making the house any warmer than it has to be. That's how I came up with my lemon berry parfait recipe. The sweet and fresh berries and nice tart lemon curd compliment each other perfectly. Adding a layer of freshly whipped cream on top is like the icing on a cake.

Serves 4 to 6

Zest of 3 Lemons
½ cup of Fresh lemon Juice,
1½ cups of sugar
1 stick of butter at room temperature
4 eggs
¼ teaspoon of salt
1 pint of heavy cream
½ teaspoon of Vanilla
2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
2 cups of blueberries
2 cups of sliced strawberries 

 
Zest all three of the lemons and add the zest to a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and whisk together with the fresh zest. This will help the oil in the lemon zest infuse into the sugar. Add the softened butter into the sugar and the zest mixture and until everything is completely combined. The mixture should be light and fluffy - you can do this by hand or with an electric mixer.

Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, making sure each egg is mixed in well before you add the next. Finally add the the lemon juice and the salt to the mixture and beat until combined. Pour the mixture into a sauce pan and cook over medium low heat on the stove stop. If at any point the mixture begins to simmer lower the heat slightly. Stir the Lemon curd constantly for about 10 to 15 minutes until the lemon curd begins to thicken. Once thickened, allow the curd to cool in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. In the meantime you can wash the berries and slices the strawberries into thin slices.

Chill a wire whisk and a metal or glass mixing bowl - this will help the whipped cream form better. Add the cream, the vanilla, and the powdered sugar to the bowl and whip cream until soft peaks begin to form. Don't over beat. Set the whipped cream aside in the refrigerator until we are ready to assemble.

When the lemon curd is cooled, start by placing the blueberries in the bottom of trifle or a parfait dish. Pour about half of the lemon curd over the blueberries. Next, lay the strawberries slices over top the layer of lemon curd and then pour the remaining lemon curd over top. Finish the parfait with our whipped cream and put back into the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. This dish can be assemble in either a large trifle or parfait bowl like I did or in individual serving glasses.