This post is sponsored by Bob's Red Mill. As always, all opinions and recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands who support Shared Appetite.
This Gluten Free Meyer Lemon Custard with Almond Thyme Crumble and Honey Mascarpone is completely made ahead of time... a stunning easy entertaining dessert!
How is it Easter already? Wasn't it just Christmas? ...especially considering some of my lazy unmotivated neighbors still haven't taken down their Christmas lights, I believe so. Not that I can blame them. We literally just started to be able to see patches of grass again after a crazy winter.
I'm always so pumped about this time of year. The days get longer. Nature renews and replenishes after the dead of winter. I finally get to pack away all my sweaters for as long as possible. And possibly most importantly, it's almost grilling season (I can almost hear my pal and fellow grilling aficionado David @ Spiced Blog giving me a huge heck yea to that one).
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Easter. I'm all about celebrating Easter with a massive brunch. You know the ones I'm talking about. Where you put out this gigantic, gluttonous smorgasbord of help-yourself type foods that everyone just dives into. My plate always becomes a feat of architectural proportions, constructing a three-story tall food sculpture as I make my way down the line of food (I get overly excited around food, in case you didn't know that already).
When it comes to serving dessert at brunch, I want something that's not incredibly heavy. I mean, I still have dinner to look forward to and eat afterwards 😉 I want my brunch dessert to have big, bright flavors that will satisfy my sweet tooth without putting me in a couch-ridden food coma. Something like this Gluten-Free Meyer Lemon Custard with Almond Thyme Crumble and Honey Mascarpone.
This gluten free Easter dessert is awesome for several reasons...
- every single component is make ahead, so all you need to do is assemble and serve. It's the epitome of easy entertaining.
- it's gluten-free, which you know at least one person at brunch is going to need.
- the dollop of honey mascarpone on top makes this dessert sound super sophisticated and will impress the heck out of your guests, even though it's just 2 ingredients and took all of 30 seconds to make.
- if you want super easy entertaining, don't even assemble... just put out the custard, almond-thyme crumble, and honey mascarpone and let guests assemble it themselves DIY style.
An insider tip to assembling these... add a LOT more crumble to them than what it looks like in these photos. Like a mountain of the almond-thyme crumble. I just couldn't add more of the crumble to the photos without it looking weird in the camera. #foodphotographyproblems
This dessert is in essence a deconstructed pie (feel free to tell your friends and family that and they'll be extra impressed by your avant garde culinary skills), so you want there to be enough crumble to serve as the "crust". Every single bite should have the crumble for maximum devouring pleasure 🙂
Oh, and if you have leftovers of the Gluten Free Almond Thyme Crumble, save it as a topping for ice cream, morning yogurt with fresh fruit, or really, just snack on it right out of the container (I won't tell).
A word about Bob's Red Mill. I'm such a fan of their stuff. A whole shelf in my pantry is literally stuffed with their products... almond meal, rice flours, gluten-free flour blends, corn meal, fava bean flour, lentils, farro... the list goes on and on. LOVE Bob's Red Mill.
If you haven't discovered or tried Bob's Red Mill products yet, you totally need to. You can even scroll down to the bottom of this post for a link to a $1 coupon for any of their products 🙂
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Gluten Free Meyer Lemon Custard with Almond Thyme Crumble
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6-8 1x
Ingredients
Meyer Lemon Custard
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (2 to 3 lemons)
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 tablespoon pieces
for the Gluten-Free Almond Thyme Crumble
- 1 ⅓ cups Bob's Red Mill finely ground almond meal/flour
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- Zest from ½ Meyer lemon
- ½ cup cold butter, chopped into chunks
for the Honey Mascarpone
- 8 ounces mascarpone
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Divide Meyer Lemon Custard among small bowls or plates. Top very generously with Almond Thyme Crumble and a small scoop of Honey Mascarpone.
for the Meyer Lemon Custard
- Make sure eggs and butter are cold. Bring about 2 inches of water to a boil in a medium pot (one that is slightly smaller than the bowl you'll be using to mix the custard). Meanwhile in a large metal bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Lower heat to maintain a rapid simmer and set the metal mixing bowl over pot. Whisk mixture constantly, turning the bowl occasionally for even heating. Once the eggs are foamy and have thickened a bit (about 2 to 3 minutes), add ⅓ of the Meyer lemon juice. Continue to whisk constantly until the mixture thickens again. Add another ⅓ of the lemon juice and whisk until it thickens again, and then add the remaining juice. Continue to cook and whisk constantly until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of a soft pudding. The whisk should leave a definite trail in the bottom of the bowl. Total cooking time should be around 10 minutes, but go more by feel than time.
- Turn off heat and whisk in butter one piece at a time. This will loosen the mixture slightly, but it will set as it cools. Pour the warm custard into another bowl and let cool completely, at least 1 hour. Refrigerate until ready to serve. I like to remove the custard from the refrigerator a bit before serving so it's not very cold when eating.
for the Gluten-Free Almond Thyme Crumble
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium mixing bowl, combine almond flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, egg, vanilla extract, thyme, and Meyer lemon zest. Scrap into food processor and add butter chunks. Pulse until the butter is well incorporated but there are still small chunks of butter running throughout. Pour out into a thin even layer on a parchment paper lined large baking sheet. Cook for 10 minutes, remove and stir, pushing the more done outside pieces towards the center and the gooey center towards the edges. Continue cooking in 5 minute intervals, stirring between each and breaking into crumbles, until the crumble light golden brown. It took me about three 5 minute intervals, for a total cooking time of 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Crumble will crisp up as it cools.
for the Honey Mascarpone
- Mix together the mascarpone and honey in a small bowl. Taste, and if you would like it sweeter, add a little more honey.
Notes
If you can't find Meyer lemons (which you totally should because they are awesome), regular lemons will work.
This is, in essence, a deconstructed pie or tart. The crumble serves as the crust, so make sure there is a good ratio of crumble to custard so they get some crunch in every bite.
Feel free to serve these as little cute parfaits (alternating crumble and custard, and then topping with the honey mascarpone). You can also leave all three components out and let guests build their own (hello easy entertaining!).
When I serve this, I put it in the little mini flare serving dishes you see in the photos (they hold just under 3 ounces each). I get about 10 to 12 servings with them. The custard is quite rich, so small servings are totally acceptable.
Lemon Custard barely adapted from Thomas Keller's Bouchon Cookbook.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
Need More Easter Brunch Inspiration?
Gluten Free Spinach and Bacon Quich with Hashbrowns Crust by Shared Appetite
Carrot Cake Cupcakes by Spiced Blog
Double Salted Caramel Cupcakes by American Heritage Cooking
Asparagus Gruyere Tart by Hip Foodie Mom
Lemon Greek Yogurt Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting by Baking A Moment
Baked Carrot Cake Donuts by Blahnik Baker
Gooey Cinnamon Roll Baked French Toast Casserole by Cooking for Keeps
Mini Strawberry Lemon Almond Cookie Cups by Life Made Sweeter
Thank you Bob's Red Mill for sponsoring this post! For more delicious recipes and a coupon for $1.00 off any product, please visit BobsRedMill.com!
Alice
I wanna see YOUR plate at Easter Brunch!!!! 😛 Chris, I love this meyer lemon custard . . so beautiful and I'm lusting after that wooden tray photographed above! 🙂 Wishing you guys a very happy Easter and hooray for Bob's Red Mill. . love all of their products. . thank you for the link love!!!
Chris
Hahaha you would either be extremely impressed or slightly disgusted... or both 🙂 That tray was a Home Goods find... I'm a sucker for that store!
Melanie
I love Bob's Red Mill products as well. I'd love to try lemon custard. It looks so smooth and creamy! Perfect for spring.
Have a great day Chris!
Chris
It's super luxurious... but the lemon gives it a brightness to it 🙂 And yea, Bob's Red Mill totally rocks!
David
HECK YEAH! It's almost grilling season, and I couldn't be happier about that. In fact, I'm thinking of dusting that last bit of snow off and getting the grill out this weekend. We'll see...I do have a curling tournament. Too bad you didn't sign up in time. But I'll consider it forgiven if you bring me some of this custard with a lot of that crumble. I'll be in the city in a couple of weeks...so when are you joining the curling club??
Chris
Hahaha yeaaaa buddy! You still have snow up there?? Yet another reason to come down here with us dude. My grill is ready to go! Man, when I do get around to actually getting up there, I'm totally in for trying curling!
Allie | Baking a Moment
These look incredible Chris! I love how fancy they sound, but yet all the components are so simple. Gotta love a make-ahead dish for the busy holiday season! Happy Spring to you and Asheley!
Chris
It's all about make-ahead when entertaining! Same to you and your family Allie!
Nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps
I have been CRAVING a lemon dessert. I gave up dessert for lent and literally all I can think about is a lemon meringue pie, or lemon bars and now this lemon custard. Looks phenomenal Chris!
Chris
Oh man... I could never give up dessert! You are stronger than I!
Nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps
P.S Thanks for the share!
Oriana
Oh my... these look so good!! I have never made lemon custard so this is an inspiration to try soon. BTW, I love Bob’s Red Mill products!
★★★★★
Chris
Isn't Bob's Red Mill the best?!?!
Kevin | keviniscooking
These photos have me salivating and it's breakfast time out here in San Diego! Wow, beautiful and that crumble sounds great, I'd mound that up like you mentioned for sure. And as for your grilling comment, can't wait to see what you come up with this season as I've just started following you from around October. BIGTIME griller here! 🙂
★★★★★
Chris
Thanks man Yea, mound it up for sure! Dude, can't wait for grilling season! Nothing better than grilling outdoors with a cold beverage in hand!
Sarah
I'm totally 100% on board with adding fresh herbs to sweet treats and lemon + thyme are an epic combo. Ummm...did my brunch invite get lost in the mail?? Well this is awkward..... (Pinned!)
Chris
I love that you use the word epic as well, haha! Ugh, mail these days... can't trust it, can you?!
Jess
These little desserts are so delicious! Love the lemon and thyme - such a great flavour combo! Perfect Easter dessert recipe 😀
Chris
Thanks so much Jess! I love lemon and thyme together!
Kelly
These custards look amazing, Chris! Lemon desserts are my absolute favorite and I am totally on board with adding more almond thyme crumble! When in doubt, always add more 🙂 The fact that you can make them ahead of time too makes them even more perfect!
★★★★★
Jen at Baked by an Introvert
These look amazing Chris! I love how easy it is to make yet they look so sophisticated. Perfect for Easter!
Ashley
haha I am picturing you piling up your plate at brunch! These look awesome - I would definitely add a ton of the crumble - and I LOVE the sound of that honey mascarpone.
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes
I know I would have to save room for one of these even after the biggest Easter brunch. Love the comment about the accurate amount of topping not shooting well. I totally know what you are talking about. That made me smile. 🙂
Lindsey
This is the perfect Spring recipe! Love the fresh thyme and and lemon combo! And isn't that food blogger decision of, do I make it how I'd eat it or do I make it look pretty, horrible?! There is never enough crumble if you ask me! And thanks for linking up to my cupcakes!
Rachel
These look sooo good! I love how cute they are, and that crumble sounds too delicious. I'm going to need to hunt down some meyer lemons!
Thalia
What an awesome idea Chris to make a little crumb to top these custards off with! They look super delicious & there is seriously nothing I wouldn't give for one right now.
★★★★★
June Burns
Mmm those sound fabulous! Love the almond thyme crumble, very interesting flavor combination 🙂
David Miller
This is a perfect recipe for me, all my fave flavors and foods,That is delicious looks like very nice one pot meal.
★★★★★