alright, so I have to tell you about this weird old British dessert I discovered while watching some random historical cooking show at 2am because I couldn’t sleep.

syllabub. like what even is that name right? sounds like something a toddler would say. but I was watching this lady make it and I was like okay that’s literally just boozy whipped cream with lemon and I need to try it immediately. next day I made it and my mind was blown.

my grandma apparently used to make this in the 70s for fancy dinner parties but nobody in my family remembered it until I brought it up. she used sherry which I don’t have and honestly sounds kinda weird so I used white wine instead. first attempt I whipped it too much and it got all grainy and separated which was disappointing. second time I barely whipped it and it was just alcoholic soup lol.

third try I got it right and served it to my book club and everyone was like “what IS this” in a good way. it’s basically fancy adult pudding that takes 10 minutes and makes you look like you know what you’re doing.

Why this dessert is genius

uses like five ingredients and most of them are pantry staples you probably have

takes literally 10 minutes if you have an electric mixer

booze makes everything better and this has a decent amount in it

super light and refreshing so perfect after a heavy meal when you’re too full for cake

looks really impressive in little glasses like you spent hours on it

What you need

here’s what goes in:

How to make it

 

Zest your lemon first before you cut it because it’s way easier. just grate the yellow part off with a microplane or the small holes on a box grater.

 

Juice the lemon into a bowl. I always get seeds in there and have to fish them out which is annoying but whatever.

 

Mix the lemon juice, wine, and brandy if you’re using it in a bowl. add the sugar and stir until it mostly dissolves. mine never fully dissolves and there’s always some grainy bits at the bottom but I don’t think it matters.

 

Add the lemon zest to the liquid mixture and let it sit for like 5 minutes. this is when you should probably chill your mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer if you remember but I always forget.

 

Pour the heavy cream into a big bowl. has to be cold cream or it won’t whip right.

 

Add the lemon wine mixture to the cream. this is gonna seem wrong because you’re adding liquid to cream but trust me it works.

 

Whip everything together with an electric mixer starting on low so it doesn’t splash everywhere. I learned this the hard way when I started on high and got cream all over my counter.

 

Keep whipping on medium speed until it forms soft peaks. this is the tricky part because if you go too far it separates and if you don’t go far enough it’s soupy. takes maybe 3-4 minutes. you want it to hold its shape but still be kinda jiggly.

 

Stop as soon as you see soft peaks forming. like when you lift the beaters it should make a little peak that flops over at the top.

 

Spoon it into glasses or bowls or whatever you want to serve it in. I use these little glass cups I got from IKEA that make everything look fancier.

 

Chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. it gets a bit firmer and the flavors meld together or whatever.

Tips and random thoughts

• Use good wine that you’d actually drink. I tried it with cooking wine once and it tasted like chemicals. doesn’t have to be expensive but shouldn’t be gross.
• Add more or less sugar depending on how sweet your wine is. some wines are already pretty sweet so taste the liquid mixture before you add the cream.
• Top with fresh berries or candied lemon peel if you’re feeling fancy. I did this for my sister’s birthday dinner and she thought I hired a caterer.
• Make it the night before if you’re having people over. actually gets better after sitting in the fridge for a while.

Storage stuff

keeps in the fridge for like 2-3 days but the texture gets a little weird after that. still tastes fine just not as fluffy.

I made a big batch last month and forgot about half of it in the back of the fridge. found it a week later and it had separated into this gross liquid layer and solid layer. threw it out immediately.

doesn’t freeze well at all so don’t even try. I attempted it once thinking I could meal prep desserts and it turned into icy gross mush.

always make it in individual servings if you can because then you can just grab one from the fridge whenever. I have three mystery containers in my fridge right now that might be syllabub from last week or might be something else entirely because I never label anything.

Nutrition per serving

for about 6 servings:

these are rough guesses from an online calculator. depends how much sugar you use and whether you add the brandy. also heavy cream has a ton of fat so this is definitely not a health food.

Questions I get

 

What kind of wine should I use

something white and dry. I usually use whatever’s already open in my fridge which is normally Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. don’t use anything too sweet or it’ll be cloying

 

Can I make it without alcohol

technically yeah but then it’s not really syllabub it’s just lemon whipped cream. if you want to skip the booze use lemon juice and a tiny bit of apple juice or white grape juice instead. won’t be the same though

 

Mine separated what did I do wrong

probably over-whipped it. the alcohol makes the cream more likely to separate if you beat it too much. stop as soon as you see soft peaks and it should be fine. if it does separate you can try whisking in a little more cream but honestly just start over

 

Can I use bottled lemon juice

I mean you CAN but fresh is so much better. bottled lemon juice has that weird chemical taste and doesn’t have the same brightness. just buy a lemon it’s like 50 cents

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