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Dessert

Easy Lemon Dessert

A chilled lemon custard folded with whipped cream and served over graham cracker crumbs.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Easy Lemon Dessert

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. Combine eggs, lemon juice and sugar and cook in a double boiler until thick.

  2. Allow to cool.

Assemble and chill

  1. Whip 1 cup cream.

  2. Fold into the lemon mixture.

  3. Cover a shallow square glass pan with graham cracker crumbs, or alternatively, use a glass pie dish.

  4. Spread the lemon custard mixture on top.

  5. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

256Calories
8 gProtein
12 gFat
28 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cracker5 saltine crackers (15g)66
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together53,532 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  3. Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together44,316 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

  4. Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together42,166 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Thicken the lemon mixture as they cook and set the custard structure.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity and bright flavor that balances the sugar.
Sugar
Sweetens the custard and balances the tartness of the lemon.
Whipping cream
Folded in whipped form to lighten the custard and add a creamy texture.
Graham cracker crumbs
Form a crisp, sweet base layer under the custard.

The step that matters

Cook the custard until thick in the double boiler. Eggs thicken as their proteins set with gentle heat. Cooking too fast or too hot can curdle them, so the custard stays gentle and stirred until it coats a spoon.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, cream):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Raisinfits better
  3. Strawberryfits about as well
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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