Limoncello liqueur and limoncello ricotta muffins.

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erbachem
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Location: New Zealand

Limoncello liqueur and limoncello ricotta muffins.

Post by erbachem »

I came across a recipe called Rosolio on the guntheranderson liqueurs website. Link is

http://www.guntheranderson.com/liqueurs/rosolio.htm

I thought that the combination of lemon and milk looked pretty interesting so I thought I'd give it a go. You end up with a clear, creamy, lemony liqueur which is quite nice along with a fair amount of lemony, slightly alcoholic curd that is roughly the consistency of ricotta cheese.

Not being one to throw stuff out, I thought I'd see what I could do with the leftover curd once the liqueur had been made and so limoncello ricotta muffins were born. here are both recipes for you to enjoy.

Limoncello (Rosolio) liqueur.

This is pretty much verbatim from the guntheranderson site with a few changes and additions for my personal tastes. A few things to note. First, get the freshest, yellowest lemons you can get hold of. Older lemons will add a distinct bitterness to the mixture. Second, the original says to use organic lemons to avoid pesticides. I leave this up to your own personal belief system on the matter. Suffice to say, I would wash any lemon first, organic or otherwise.

One large lemon
2 1/4 cups grain alcohol
2 1/4 cups full cream milk
1/2 vanilla bean
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Zest (taking just the yellow part) and juice the lemon. Combine with the alcohol, milk and vanilla bean in a glass jar. The milk will curdle.

Shake every day for 8 days. After 8 days filter. First strain through a layer of cheese cloth (aka muslin or muttoncloth) to catch most of the curd. Filter again using a coffee filter. Add sugar or your favourite sweetener / thickener to the liquid to taste. The limoncello curd remaining in the mutton cloth should keep for a reasonable amount of time if properly stored and refrigerated.




Limoncello ricotta muffins.

Ingredients:
2 Cups (300g) All-purpose flour (plain white flour)
1/2 Cup (110g) Castor sugar + 2 Tbs
2 1/2 Tsp Baking powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Cup (250g) Limoncello curd
1/3 Cup (84ml) Milk
6 Tbs (90ml) Unsalted butter, melted
2 Eggs (~50g)


Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Grease twelve 2 ½” by 1 ¼” muffin-pan cups or line with paper baking liners.
3. In large bowl, stir together flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder and salt.
4. In medium bowl, with wire whisk or fork, mix together limoncello curd, milk, melted butter, eggs and lemon peel.

5. Make well in center of flour mixture and pour in liquid mixture; stir until just moistened.
6. Spoon batter into prepared muffin-pan cups.
7. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over muffins.
8. Bake 20 to 22 minutes, until muffins are golden brown, tops spring back when lightly touched or a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.
9. Immediately remove from pan; serve warm. Or cool on wire rack to serve later.

Remarks:
To mix the fllour with the liquid mixture I used a fork.
The secret of light and tender muffins lies within the blending of the wet ingredients with the dry ones. It's not a problem if you've left some lumps that look as if they want more stirring. Don't continue stirring no matter how hard it is, resist the impulse!
ME
ThrownOlive
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Re: Limoncello liqueur and limoncello ricotta muffins.

Post by ThrownOlive »

Interested to see how this comes out! I think I'll try it sometime soon!
mealstrom
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Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 12:15 pm

Re: Limoncello liqueur and limoncello ricotta muffins.

Post by mealstrom »

I made some of this last night, but can't get full cream milk so substituted Whole Milk instead. So it looks like it's not curdling, at least not right away. I'll shake it each morning and evening for the next week then post the results.

Oh, and this recipe makes about 1/2 gallon or so.
ThrownOlive
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Re: Limoncello liqueur and limoncello ricotta muffins.

Post by ThrownOlive »

I wonder if it needs all of the fat content to curdle right? Shit. Now I'm gonna have to join another forum to read up on home dairy products... :D
mealstrom
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Re: Limoncello liqueur and limoncello ricotta muffins.

Post by mealstrom »

It seems to be separating and curdling slowly. Each night I get a thick layer of yellowish cream on the bottom, a layer of clear yellow liquid (the alcohol I'm assuming), and then a thin layer of curds on the top. I'm shaking it up a couple times a day, but wondering if this recipe needs some sort of emulsifier.
NateTG
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Joined: Fri May 10, 2013 9:55 am

Re: Limoncello liqueur and limoncello ricotta muffins.

Post by NateTG »

ThrownOlive wrote:I wonder if it needs all of the fat content to curdle right? Shit. Now I'm gonna have to join another forum to read up on home dairy products... :D
It's the casein (a protein) that curdles. Non-fat milk will curdle.
mealstrom
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Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 12:15 pm

Re: Limoncello liqueur and limoncello ricotta muffins.

Post by mealstrom »

Straining this out was rough. Got a little of the curds in the cheesecloth, and instead ended up using paper towels. I basically filled up the funnel with the paper towel in it, let it drain, then squeezed the curd out into a bowl. Then repeated until I was done. When I got to the very end I poured the really thick stuff back into the bottles so that there would be some powdered sugar in the mix.

This came out really tasty, and it gave me an idea to try it with oranges. Think I'll make an orange cream drink using this same recipe!
mealstrom
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Re: Limoncello liqueur and limoncello ricotta muffins.

Post by mealstrom »

The limoncello was so popular that I decided to try lime and orange. Following the same process I made a big batch of each. They turned out great, and the orange muffins were phenomenal.

Incidentally, the wife liked the flavor but not the texture. So I decided to filter it out for her, but wanted a way that didn't require a ton of work yet still saved all that delicious curd. Turns out a strainer lined with a paper towel resting on a bowl works perfectly. When the curd is really thick and the liquid is mostly gone, swap the paper towel sheet and do it again with the other half. If you want to squeeze some extra out just fold the paper towel up like an envelope, then set a plate on top of it for a little weight. Come back when your TV show is over.

Here you can see the process, and the filtered and unfiltered drinks. Funny enough, they taste almost identical. It's mostly a texture difference. The orange tastes just like a creamsicle.
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orangecello 2.jpg
orangecello 1.jpg
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