…they don’t necessarily follow Dale Carnegie‘s advice and “make lemonade.”  Instead, Jules’ chefs may prepare the exquisitely crafted, individually portioned desserts known as Golden Egg Custards.

Even before we dipped a tiny spoon into this meringue-topped lemon concoction we knew we were in for something special, because the instant a ‘golden egg’ was served to us, we felt we had received a gift.

In its entirety it was such a pretty package we hated to disturb it. But of course we succumbed, and when we did we felt doubly rewarded because this tiny treasure tasted as great as it looked.

Receiving this golden egg was also cause for inspiration because it happened to catch us at a time when we were pondering How to Win Friends and Influence People. After just one taste we knew that we must plan a Jules-catered party and add these exquisitely crafted lemon-merigue eggs to the menu.

 

How does Jules ‘hatch’ golden eggs?

This was the first question we posed to Jules’ Executive Chef Albert Rosado when we caught up with him soon after we had indulged.

“We start with the egg shells,”Albert explained. “In days gone by we prepared our own, using a scoring device to precisely top off the shells, which we then sanitized and spray-painted on the outside with gold. Now, though, a vendor supplies us with ready-to-use shells.”

Then what?

“Slowly…gently we make a lemon custard…and then we pour it into the empty shells, where we allow it to cool. Meanwhile, we beat up egg whites and sugar to make the meringue.”

It can’t be that simple, we thought, quoting a passage from The New Best Recipes by the editors of Cook’s Illustrated magazine, who wax poetic about “tricky” meringue:

“On any given day [meringue] can shrink, bead, puddle, deflate, burn, sweat, break down, or turn rubbery.”

“Sounds like me on a bad day,” Albert laughed. “But seriously, preparing the meringue for these eggs is less tricky, say, than when we construct meringue birds’ nests or even certain types of cookies. When we prepare some of those temperamental meringues, we need to pay heed to the overall temperature and humidity in the kitchen. But with Golden Egg Custards we don’t have to worry so much because we simply heat the meringue with the brulee torch, until the fluffy peaks turn gold.”

Assembling the eggs must be painstaking, we persisted.

“It is,” Albert agreed. “But it’s worth it, because who in the world doesn’t love a golden egg?”

 

An irresistible dessert

When we asked a party guest how she felt about Jules’ Golden Egg Custards, she refused to reply until we guaranteed anonymity: “I’m not kidding,” ‘Mme. X’ said as she surveyed emptied egg shells with sideways-tipping spoons, “Jules should issue a warning when offering these desserts. The lemon custard and the meringue are so light and frothy it’s dangerously easy to inhale three…even four…(could it have been more?!) without feeling filled up.”

Photo Credits: Liz Muir