The Last Drop of Lemon Syrup

OK, so what to do with the leftover syrup from making candied lemon peel from the last post is on the agenda for today. Below you see the jar I had leftover after making the batch the other day. I happened to have a little bit more in another jar, as well, I just didn't photograph that bit in this picture. There are many things you can use the lemon syrup for: lemon drop martinis, simple syrup for margaritas, a sweetener for your cup of tea, add water and lemon juice ice cubes to make lemonade, add it to yogurt, drizzle it over fresh fruit, etc., but I am going to show you what I did with it.

After your first time making the candied lemon peel your syrup will look like this:

A pale lemon yellow color, reminiscent (to me) of the color of Lemoncello, the spirit made from mixing vodka with lemon zest. I have yet to try making my own, and I am sure it is easy to do, I just haven't gotten around to it since I only occasionally will drink a glass of wine, I find it to be extra work to make some liquor thing - and who needs extra work? I must add here, though, if I DID make it , and it was AWESOME, perhaps I wouldn't consider it extra work at all. Will have to see what time brings to that issue. Anyways, my point is that it is a very light lemon color. If you take a batch of lemons (California Meyer being the first choice), thinly slice them and put them to boil in the lemon syrup,

leave them in the boiling syrup for 10-15 minutes until the rinds are really soft,

and then store the left over syrup from that batch of cooking. The next time you go to use it, you will see that your lemon syrup will now be a deep golden, almost honey colored hue:

I actually was able to make two batches of the lemon slices with the leftovers of the initial sryup. The slices don't have to boil as long as lemon peel because you are not looking for the "chew" consistency to be the same. You want it softer. Leave the syrupy lemon slices to dry directly on parchment paper. After just a few hours on the counter, long enough so they are nice and cooled, you can stick them in a jar to use later. I would keep that jar in the fridge, just in case. WARNING  WARNING: if you eat ONE slice now, you may not have any slices left for any further cooking adventures. This happened on my first batch of lemon slices. After just one try, the girls and I ate ALL of them. We had to wait for another day to buy more lemons and continue with the dessert plan.

The leftover syrup from the third time using it (lemon peels, then two batches of lemon slices) turned this beautiful amber color. It is hard to believe, isn't it? None of the pictures in this post have been Photoshopped so you can get an exact feeling of what things were looking like in my kitchen. Talk about mesmerising. Of course, by the third go around, my jar size had gotten considerably smaller as most of the sugar syrup stayed on the lemon slices. Also, I must add here, the third jar of syrup is not as sugary sweet as the first jar because it has been made with the pith on the lemon. I actually liked it more, it had a sweetness with bitter undertones to it. I thought about making grown up lollipops with this third jar, but the syrup didn't last that long in our house.

 

Get ready. The next photo is the stuff my lemon dreams are made of.

 

Lemon Ricotta Cake coated with lemon syrup (I skewered holes into the cake layer when it came out of the oven and drizzled, and redrizzled, lemon syrup all over it. I then, delicately placed the soft syrupy lemon slices over the cake. Being so soft, the lemon slices were not a problem to cut through with a small sharp knife. My husband, whom I do love, wasn't keen on eating whole lemon slices, he is kind of funny that way. Oh well, we have a fix for that. When trying out this ricotta cake thing I doubled the recipe so I could try it two different ways. He got his own separate little cake.

I must say that even though I still prefer the one with the lemon slices, both visually and for eating, I gave his a try and ... yes ... it too qualifies as a lemon dream.

 Hope you get to make some lemon dreams of your own.

Carolina 

Comments

[Gwendolyn Acuna]

Carolina, That Lemon Ricotta Cake loos WONDERFUL! Oh boy, my mouth is watering, it looks like just the kind of cake I would LOVE. No use asking for the recipe, because I wouldn't be able to make it, it must be a lot of work, and besides I can't get Meyer lemons on the Vineyard. The pictures are incredibly beautiful!
Love you. Mom

[Melissa P]

I am feeling so guilty after this post. Look at all the work you've been doing! So gorgeous, tasty and inspiring. And here I am with a whole tree of lemons doing nothing but drooling over your pictures.

I'd say I'm going to get right to work on some lemon syrup, except I've currently placed another batch of that fabulous granola in the oven. That's about all the extra cooking I can get to at the moment.

Have a great week!

[The Muse of The Day]

Good on you, Melissa, for making the granola. A whole tree of lemons, you say? Is the house next to yours on the market? Maybe we could strike a deal. If I didn't know about the copious amounts of sewing that you routinely produce, I would be yelling at you to get out there and not let all those lovely lemons go to waste. But alas, I do know JUST how much you do, so I will keep my mouth shut. I just sit, here, turning a little green from envy - envy of your lemons and your sewing abilities. Carolina

[do you mind if i knit]

I am actually drooling as I write this Carolina!, first at the golden yellow nectar in the jar, then at the last photo of the cake, which looks, quite simply, divine. Vanessa xxx

[lori]

oh yum, everything looks so delicious carolina! i love lemons, and meyers especially. i'm so glad the spit splice is going to be a help to you. thank you so much for letting me know.

[Alicia Armstrong]

WOW! Your lemon cakes look amazing. And you are right, the color changes in the syrup are just beautiful to look at. I will have to investigate and see if I can get Meyer lemons in my town. You envy Melissa having her own lemon tree and I envy your family for getting to eat the fruits (ha ha) of your labor. Do they know how lucky they are?

[Elizabeth]

GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!! I'm normally more of an orange girl, but I think I now may be a convert to lemons :)

The cake is so beautiful, I'm sure that it was super tasty and lemony in a refreshing way.

Photos are stunning BTW!!