The Lemon Cream is a spoon dessert really tasty that captures all the freshness and the citrus scent of lemon.
Its versatility is incredible! It is ideal not only to enjoy as a spoon dessert, but also as a filling for tarts, cakes or cookies. It’s perfect for assembling desserts in a glass or for summer cakes made with soft cookies or ladyfingers – just let your imagination run wild!
The preparation of lemon cream is really simple and follows a very similar procedure to pastry cream.
Let’s get baking!

Enjoy the recipe, Giusi.

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Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Very inexpensive
Preparation time: 20 Minutes
Cooking time: 5 Minutes
Portions: 4 servings
Cooking methods: Stovetop
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients for the lemon cream

These quantities are indicative to fully fill a tart about 9 1/2–10 1/4 in diameter or the interior of a Sponge Cake of the same diameter.

2 1/8 cups milk
2 eggs
6 tbsp + 1 tsp granulated sugar
4 tbsp (about 1/4 cup) potato starch (or cornstarch)
1 lemon (Zest and juice)

Steps for the lemon cream

Pour the milk into a high-sided saucepan. Add the whole lemon peel (only the yellow part) and bring the mixture almost to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar. Also add the starch previously sifted and mix well until you get a smooth mixture.
When the milk is boiling, remove the lemon peel. Pour it slowly into the bowl with the egg and sugar mixture, stirring vigorously with a whisk.
At this point, pour everything back into the saucepan and return it to the stovetop over medium-low heat.
Continue cooking over low heat, stirring continuously and patiently, until the cream has thickened. It will take a few minutes.
As soon as the cream reaches the right consistency, turn off the heat. Squeeze the fresh lemon juice and add it to the cream, stirring quickly to incorporate it.
To cool the cream quickly, a useful trick is to place the container you will pour it into in the freezer for about 15 minutes before use. Pour the cream into a shallow, wide container to speed up the cooling time.
If you are not using it immediately or while cooling, sprinkle the cream with a little granulated sugar to prevent a skin from forming on top.
The cream is ready to be enjoyed!