The Food of Downton Abbey: Frozen Lemon Silk

So, season three of Downton Abbey is over. Withdrawals for about ten million American's is now common. It will be around ten more months before season four makes its way across the pond from England. What is a Downton Abbey fan to do? Quite obviously, eat the food of the era and watch reruns!

When it comes to frozen desserts you have your various ice creams, sorbets, yogurts and custards. All of them are very good and in most cases, rather refreshing. During the Edwardian era and the time of the abbey's, these frozen concoctions were often served but when the dinner guests were members of royalty or people to impress, it had to be something a little more special. It had to be something memorable. Since dessert was the ending to a fantastic meal, it also had to be something to cleanse the palate. Nothing cleanses the palate more than natural citric acid (lemon juice) and nothing ends a memorable dinner quite like the richness of Frozen Lemon Silk.

This is a very simple frozen dessert to make, albeit does take a little time. If you can make a French style ice cream or frozen custard, you will have no problem making this dessert. All you need to have is an ice cream machine (preferably electric, unless you have a neighborhood full of kids who will hand churn it for you).

For a complete how-to slideshow on making Frozen Lemon Silk, just go to the free Facebook page called The Food of Downton Abbey.

Ingredients needed to make Frozen Lemon Silk:

• 1 cup half-and-half
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest

Steps:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk the half-and-half, cream, sugar, salt and lemon juice until the sugar has melted and the mixture is hot. Do not let it come to a boil!
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks.
3. Whisk 1 cup of the hot cream into the egg yolks (this is called temping the eggs).
4. Stir the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan and stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens.
5. Remove the saucepan from the heat and chill at least 1 hour.
6. Pour the mixture into an ice cream machine, along with the lemon zest, and churn 30 minutes.
7. Place into the freezer until ready to scoop and serve.

The new cookbook from Chef Larry Edwards is now available from Amazon.com and bookstores worldwide. One of the most anticipated cookbooks of the year, "Edwardian Cooking: Inspired by Downton Abbey's Elegant Meals."