lemon verbena

The combination of light, fragrant lemon verbena custard and blueberries makes for a memorable dessert everyone will love.

This recipe is an extract from Valli Little's new book, My Kind of Food (Harper Collins, $39.99), available nationwide.

Blueberry and lemon verbena tarts

(250 milliliters) milk

lemon verbena leaves lemon thyme sprigs

(55 grams) caster sugar

egg egg

cornflour

milliliters thickened cream

blueberries

(160 grams) blueberry jam

(225 grams) plain flour

(40 grams) icing sugar

tsp vanilla extract

cold unsalted butter, chopped

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Macerated Sour Cherries And Mascarpone Cream

sour

lemon verbena leaves

sugar

mace

riesling

mascarpone cheese

heavy cream

In a large nonreactive bowl, mix cherries, lemon verbena, sugar, mace and wine. Cover tightly, and macerate at least 24 hours.

Strain and set aside cherries, reserving juice. Remove lemon verbena leaves from strainer, and add to juice.

Put juice in blender, and blend it fine. Strain through medium strainer, pressing to extract all liquid. Pour juice over cherries, reserving 1/4 cup.

In small bowl, soften cheese with spatula; slowly stir in reserved juice until mixture is smooth.

Combine cream and sugar in another bowl, and beat until soft peaks form. Fold cream into mascarpone.

To serve, divide mascarpone into 4 bowls. Pour cherries and juice over cheese. Top each serving with pinch of mace.

This is refrigerator jam, allowing you to skip the fuss and time of canning. Here, you’ll use a method from Christine Ferber, one of France’s eminent jam makers. She calls for macerating the fruit in sugar overnight so the juices release, then straining the liquid from the bowl and cooking that down to a syrup before re-adding the fruit. That allows you to cook the fruit less, retaining a better texture and fresher flavor. It works beautifully with this combination of peaches and nectarines spiked with lemon verbena.

Nectarine and Peach Jam With Lemon Verbena

lemon

nectarines

sugar (3 and 1/4 cups)

salt

Grate zest from half the lemon and place zest in a large saucepan. Juice lemon and add the juice to the zest. Toss in fruit, sugar, salt and lemon verbena and bring to a simmer. Turn mixture into a large bowl and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, if you plan to can the jam, prepare the jars <a href='http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/dining/canning-jam-from-preparing-the-jars-to-testing-the-seal.html'>according to the instructions here</a>.

Strain the liquid from the mixture into a wide, shallow pot or large skillet, reserving the fruit. Bring liquid to a simmer and cook until it thickens enough to wrinkle on the surface when you push it with a spoon (a candy thermometer should read 220 degrees).

Remove lemon verbena from fruit and add fruit to the pot with the syrup. Simmer fruit gently until mixture looks very thick and jamlike. You can test the jam to see if it’s ready by freezing a small plate. Drop a bit of the jam on the plate, let it cool for a minute and then push it with your finger. The top should wrinkle. If syrup is thin and runny, keep cooking and test again in a few minutes (return plate to freezer in the meantime).

If canning, spoon into hot sterilized jars and process as directed. Otherwise, let jam cool, then store in refrigerator or freezer.

This recipe is adapted from the ever-popular WASC cake formula by Rebecca Sutterby. Swiss meringue buttercream recipe is from the Sprinkle Bakes book. This cake starts with a box of white cake mix but is improved upon with additions of sugar, flour, sour cream and delicious flavorings by Amoretti (see blog post for resources). Alternatives for Amoretti ingredients are listed in the recipe. The flavors will be slightly different, but no less delicious.

Wild Strawberry and Lemon Verbena Layer Cake

white cake mix (16.25 oz.)

all-purpose flour

sour cream

water

eggs

Amoretti Lemon Verbena Swirl (or 1/2 tablespoon lemon extract)

liquid red food color (optional)

drop yellow food color (optional)

unsalted butter (cubed, softened)

Amoretti Natural Lemon Artisan Flavor (or 1 teaspoon lemon extract)

white chocolate (chopped (tested with Baker’s chocolate))

strawberries

White food-safe flowers

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together the first 4 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a four-cup measure, stir together the sour cream, water, and eggs. With a hand mixer running on low speed, gradually pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Scrape the bowl down and mix again until all ingredients are consistently incorporated. Divide the cake batter into two mixing bowls. To one bowl add the three tablespoons wild strawberry compound and mix well by hand (also add the optional red food color, if desired). To the other bowl, add the lemon verbena swirl and mix well by hand (also add the optional yellow food color, if desired). Divide the wild strawberry batter between two pans; divide the lemon verbena batter between the remaining two pans.

Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes, or until they spring back when pressed in their centers. Let cool in the pans 5 minutes; turn out on wire racks to cool completely. Level cakes using a cake leveler or serrated knife.

Cake

Set a saucepan filled one-third full of water over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.

Whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and salt in a large heatproof bowl (I suggest a stainless bowl). Set over the simmering water and whisk until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar has dissolved (120-140 degrees on a candy thermometer, to be sure).

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.

Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Increase to medium-high until stiff peaks are formed.

Continue beating at medium-high speed until the mixture is fluffy and has cooled (the mixing bowl should feel cool to the touch).

Turn the mixer off and switch from the whisk attachment to the paddle. Turn the mixer on medium-low and add the butter, a few cubes at a time, beating until well incorporated before the next addition. The mixture will deflate with the butter addition, this is normal – keep going – adding butter a little at a time. When all of the butter is incorporated, increase the speed to high and beat until thick and smooth. Add the lemon flavoring and beat again until incorporated.

Frost the cake: Place a lemon verbena layer on a cake plate. Top it with approximately 1/2 cup of lemon buttercream and spread evenly. Center a wild strawberry cake layer on top of the frosting and top with 1/2 cup lemon buttercream; Repeat this process with the remaining lemon verbena layer and end with the final wild strawberry layer on top. Use the remaining frosting to cover the outside of the cake. Smooth using a cake smoother or an offset spatula. Refrigerate the cake until the frosting is firm, about 25 minutes.

Buttercream

Melt chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals; stir until smooth. Turn a cookie sheet upside-down and pour on the chocolate. Spread evenly with an offset spatula. Place in the refrigerator for 5-7 minutes, or until the chocolate is firm and has a matte appearance.

Remove from refrigerator and let stand for a few minutes (3-5ish) at room temperature. With a small, sharp spatula, begin scraping chocolate at one edge in a thin strip. If chocolate breaks into pieces it is too cold, so allow it to stand a few minutes more at room temp. Chocolate should curl easily as you run your spatula under the chocolate and down the length of the cookie sheet. Place curls in a small bowl and store in refrigerator until ready for use. Chocolate melts at body temperature, so handle them as little as possible. If you have particularly hot hands, use a spoon to transfer the curls to the top of the cake.

Garnish cake with chocolate curls, whole strawberries with stems and food safe flowers. Bring the cake to room temperature before serving. Keep leftovers in the refrigerator loosely covered with plastic wrap.

Curls and Garnish

If you grow pole beans, you know that at first glance, you have only a few beans, and then suddenly there is an onslaught. That's when bean varieties like the green Blue Lake or the yellow wax beans can be stir-grilled with a bit of olive oil for a very simple yet satisfying dish to use the surplus of beans. When you're in the mood for a more robust sauce, try this lemony pesto tossed with the grilled beans right before serving.   

_**Editor's note:** If you can't find lemon verbena leaves or even fresh lemon balm leaves, substitute basil pesto._

Charred Green Beans with Lemon Verbena Pesto

green beans

olive oil

fresh lemon verbena leaves (substitute fresh lemon balm leaves)

garlic

Parmesan cheese

pine nuts or English walnuts

black pepper

If you grow pole beans, you know that at first glance, you have only a few beans, and then suddenly there is an onslaught. That's when bean varieties like the green Blue Lake or the yellow wax beans can be stir-grilled with a bit of olive oil for a very simple yet satisfying dish to use the surplus of beans. When you're in the mood for a more robust sauce, try this lemony pesto tossed with the grilled beans right before serving.
Editor's note: If you can't find lemon verbena leaves or even fresh lemon balm leaves, substitute basil pesto.

Epicurious

Toss the beans with olive oil and place in a perforated grill basket or wok set on a baking sheet.

For the Lemon Verbena Pesto, combine the lemon verbena, garlic, cheese, and nuts in a food processor and pulse to puree. Slowly add the olive oil with the processor running until the mixture thickens and emulsifies, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper. The pesto will keep in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days or it may be frozen for up to 3 months.

Place the grill wok or basket directly over the fire and stir-grill tossing the beans with wooden paddles or grill spatulas until crisp-tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer the grilled beans to a large bowl and toss with about 1/4 cup of the Lemon Verbena Pesto or to taste.

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Top 5 lemon verbena recipes from across the web

The most viewed lemon verbena recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Blueberry and lemon verbena tarts

Macerated Sour Cherries And Mascarp...

Nectarine and Peach Jam With Lemon ...

Wild Strawberry and Lemon Verbena L...

Charred Green Beans with Lemon Verb...

The most viewed lemon verbena recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine