A Lemony Treat You Can Concoct in Summer and Tinker With All Winter
'There was a guy named Eddie in my weeklong summer rental share this year who devoted one whole precious vacation day to making mole: hours of frying and dry-toasting and steeping and then wiping up the splatters. The other housemates wandered in and out from the deck or the beach where they’d been, doing a fat load of nothing: dozing in their chairs, people-watching, their books open but unread on their laps. A few sprints into the invigorating Atlantic surf punctuated their naps, during which they lovingly admired Eddie and looked forward to dinner.
This tart, creamy and downright joyful lemon parfait is for those of us who identify more with the Eddies of the world — vacation mole makers unite! — and who think of summer as a chance to finally focus on that complex project we’ve had pinned to our mood board all winter. But there’s a little something here for everyone. The lemon-soda gelatin and the buttermilk-flavored one — the “batters,” I guess you could call them — largely conform to the breezy messaging of summer magazine covers; they are, in fact, “lazy” and “easy” to make. But the parfaits themselves, gorgeous columns of sliver-thin layers that take time and attention to build, are for those of us who think a beach vacation is the best time to finally read “Anna Karenina” all the way through. . .
This parfait gets its pucker from that sour tang of buttermilk and, of course, the lemon juice. But there is an extra zinger: Carbonated soda water in place of still tap water creates effervescence in the mouth. You plunge your spoon down through the wobbly layers expecting a creamy, tender mouthful, and instead it nearly buzzes on the tongue — like the exhilarating miracle of swallowing a bee before it has a chance to sting you.
If this kind of total-immersion project makes you instantly fall asleep in your beach chair just reading about it, maybe you’d prefer to try it during the work year, when you are already upright, wearing shoes. No sweat. Lemon and buttermilk are both readily available in winter. Tear this page out, and save it for later. It straddles seasons as well as temperaments. But if you’re the kind of person who gleefully packs four different types of dried chiles in your weekend bag before running to catch the ferry, make it now, before the demands of the year begin their onslaught. You’ll still be done in time for a swim before dinner. . .
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/04/magazine/lemon-soda-buttermilk-parfait-recipe.html?
FOR THE LEMON GELATIN:
1 ¾ cups club soda
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon powdered gelatin
½ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4 lemons), strained
½ cup granulated sugar
FOR THE BUTTERMILK GELATIN:
¼ cup cold water
1 ½ tablespoons powdered gelatin
1 ¾ cups heavy cream
1 cup buttermilk
¼ cup granulated sugar
Unsweetened whipped cream, for serving
PREPARATION
Prepare the lemon gelatin: Pour 1/4 cup club soda into a medium bowl. Sprinkle the powdered gelatin on top, and let the gelatin bloom for 2 to 3 minutes.
Combine the lemon juice and sugar in a double boiler or a medium stainless-steel bowl set over a saucepan with an inch of simmering water. Cook over low heat just until the lemon syrup begins to steam, about 3 minutes. You should have a viscous, syrupy liquid with no discernible traces of sugar granules. Pour the lemon syrup into the gelatin mixture, and stir well to combine. (There should be no visible undissolved gelatin, but you could pass the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer, if need be.) Stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups club soda, and transfer to a bowl set over an ice bath.
Prepare the buttermilk gelatin: Pour the cold water into a medium bowl. Sprinkle the powdered gelatin on top, and let the gelatin bloom for 2 to 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a double boiler or a medium stainless-steel bowl set over a saucepan with an inch of simmering water, combine the heavy cream, buttermilk and sugar. Scald over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved completely.
Stir the scalded cream mixture into the gelatin-and-water mixture, then pour into a smaller bowl set over an ice bath. Let cool for 5 minutes, stirring often to prevent the edges from solidifying. Remove the bowl from the ice bath, and let stand at room temperature. After about 5 minutes, once the mixture is the consistency of melted ice cream, start assembling the parfaits.
Gather four 8-ounce parfait glasses and prepare an ample ice bath that can comfortably and securely fit all four of the glasses without tipping them over.
Using a tablespoon, carefully pour 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk mixture into the bottom of each glass, and place each glass into the ice bath to set for 10 minutes.
Pick up a parfait glass, and give it a little jiggle to confirm the layer has set enough to receive — and support — the next layer. Then repeat Step 7 with the lemon mixture, allowing it to set until firm in the center, about 30 minutes.
Continue layering the buttermilk and lemon gelatins alternately, until the glasses are full, allowing each layer to fully set in the ice bath before proceeding to the next. Add more ice to the ice bath as needed, and don’t be tempted to hasten the process. If either mixture begins to firm up while you are working and is no longer spoonable or pourable, gently rewarm it for a few seconds over a pan of simmering water to liquify once more.
Cover and refrigerate the parfaits until thoroughly chilled and fully set, or up to 2 days. Before serving, be certain to temper for 20 minutes at room temperature for perfect, tender results. Finish with whipped cream.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020440-lemon-soda-buttermilk-parfait
= new reply since forum marked as read
Finding your post was a happy accident. The article is such a great little read. Although the recipe is far beyond my skill or patience level — I aspire to this level of cooking chemistry. 
and far beyond my PATIENCE level!
