A nice light dessert

"Lemon Snow" is one of my favourite desserts from childhood, but I've rarely made it myself. Using gelatin has put me off - getting it dissolved without heating it so much that it loses its setting power. The recipe comes from Dr Oetker's "German Home Cooking" (vintage 1970s), in which it's called Lemon Cream, even though it's dairy free; there's another recipe for Lemon Cream with Milk, which as far as I know is not the one my mother made.

Putting lemon zest into little bags and into the freezer has nothing whatsoever to do with the recipe
(they are destined for gremolata at some later date)

Assemble tools and ingredients - dissolving the gelatin in a pan was a mistake

Lemon Cream

Needs a small bowl, a medium bowl, and a large bowl; whisk; pan with hot water

Separate 3 eggs; measure out 100g sugar; juice 2 large lemons (2 ½ smaller ones).

Put       6 Tbsp water in a small bowl

Add     a packet gelatine (12g) – sprinkle onto the water and stir, then leave to soak for about 10 mins. Put over simmering water and stir over low heat just until completely dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Whisk the egg whites till stiff; add a third of the sugar. (No need to wash the whisk before the next step.)

Add     4 Tbsp warm water

to the egg yolks and beat vigorously until very frothy. Gradually add the rest of the sugar and beat until the mixture is thick and creamy. Whisk in the lemon juice and dissolved gelatine. As soon as the cream begins to thicken, fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Put into individual serving dishes or a pretty bowl. Chill until set.

Ready to chill