Lemon Verbena Strawberry Fool Recipes

STRAWBERRY LEMON FOOL PARFAITS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. Cook over medium heat until the strawberries begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Place the strawberry mixture in a food processor and process until smooth. Remove the mixture from the food processor and strain through a fine mesh strainer. Mix in the sliced strawberries and place in the refrigerator. Refrigerate until very cold. With an electric mixer, whip the cream. In parfait glasses, layer the strawberries and whipped cream, starting and ending with the whipped cream. Place in the refrigerate and chill for 4 hours.
• Remove the zest of the lemons using a vegetable peeler. Be careful not to get any of the white pith. Julienne the zest. Blanch the julienned zest in boiling water for 5 minutes to remove any bitterness. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of sugar and the water. Bring to a boil. Add the blanched zest to the sugar syrup. Remove the sugar syrup from the heat and let the zest steep for 10 minutes. Remove the zest from the syrup and lay out on a rack. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar.
• Top the parfaits with some of the candied lemon zest.

LEMON VERBENA POUND CAKE WITH STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• Make cake:
• Preheat oven to 325°F. and butter and flour a 1-quart kugelhopf pan, knocking out excess flour.
• In a bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, verbena (or zest), and zest. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in vanilla. Beat in half of flour mixture. Beat in milk and lemon juice and beat in remaining flour mixture until just combined.
• Spoon batter into pan, smoothing top, and bake in middle of oven 45 to 55 minutes, or until golden brown on top and a tester comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a rack 15 minutes and invert onto rack to cool completely.
• Make glaze while cake is cooling:
• In a small bowl whisk confectioners's sugar, a little at a time, into lemon juice until smooth and thick.
• When cake is completely cooled, drizzle glaze over cake and let it drip down sides. Cake may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
• Serve cake at room temperature with strawberries.

FRUIT IN LEMON-VERBENA SYRUP

Steps:

• Put fruit in a large bowl and gently toss with 1/2 cup sugar, then let stand 20 minutes.
• Rub verbena sprigs in your hands to bruise leaves and stems, then combine with water and remaining 3/4 cup sugar in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Simmer 1 minute, then remove from heat and let steep, covered, 5 minutes.
• Stir lemon juice into warm syrup and pour through a medium-mesh sieve over fruit. Discard verbena sprigs and gently stir fruit. Let macerate at room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Divide among 8 soup plates.

LEMON VERBENA SIMPLE SYRUP

Steps:

• Combine water, sugar, and lemon verbena leaves in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let syrup steep, about 30 minutes.
• Pour syrup into a sterilized glass jar through a mesh strainer to remove lemon verbena leaves; let cool.