Little lemony pots

I’m really not sure what to call these, they are kind of like a cross between eton mess and lemon cheesecake, partly inspired by a dessert called ‘Ipanema Mess’ that I had in Las Iguanas.  This is a store-cupboard thing, in the sense that I already had most of the ingredients and was wondering what to do with them.  They are incredibly easy.

With most desserts, going for the low fat never really works, and its honestly not worth the bother.  However with this, and actually with most eton-mess style emss things, yogurt seems to work really well in the place of whipped cream.  Actually, the sourness seems to balance out the sweetness of the meringue and the fruit, making it a much less rich and more interesting experience.  It also makes it the kind of dessert you don’t feel so guilty about eating at brunch/lunchtime.

For each ramekin you will need:

Approximately 1 ½ digestive biscuits, bashed into crumbs. When I made this I used chocolate digestives as it was all I had, but I really don’t recommend using them – they don’t crumble as well, and I don’t think that the additional chocolate element adds anything to the dessert.

Spoonful of margarine/butter, melted

Lemon curd

Natural yogurt

Meringues. I used small shop-bought ones which were great as it was one for each.

Is you have fresh lemons (I didn’t) a bit of zest grated over the top would be really lovely. I have to say though, there was something really beautiful and simple of the white all by itself, and it does make the lemon more of a surprise when you find it.

Mix the cookie crumbs with the melted butter, and press into a straight layer in the bottom of each ramekin, approx. ½ - 1 cm thick.  Put them in the fridge for a couple of hours until set.

Put a blob of lemon curd in the centre of each dish, as much as you want to, but remember that it is really, coma-inducingly sweet. Fill the rest of the ramekin until almost full with the yogurt, and then crumble the meringue over the top.  Keep in the fridge until ready to eat.