The first time I tasted lemon granita was at an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn called Lilia…The second time was in Sicily at the iconic Caffe Sicilia. Both are transcendent experiences worth traveling for.
Lemon Granita & Cream Recipe
This crowd-pleaser calls for five ingredients and requires no cooking.
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Published Aug 5, 2024
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Emma Fishman/Big Night
Looking for a frozen dessert that’s a breeze to prepare without turning on the oven? The lemon granita and cream recipe from Katherine Lewin’s new cookbook, Big Night: Dinners, Parties & Dinner Parties, has you covered.
“The first time I tasted lemon granita was at an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn called Lilia,” Lewin explains, “where it comes in a tall, ice-cold glass, stacked between layers of vanilla soft serve. The second time was in Sicily at the iconic Caffe Sicilia, where it’s served with brioche and cream—for breakfast. Caffe Sicilia may be a bit farther from home, but both are transcendent experiences worth traveling for.”
This recipe couldn’t be simpler to make, and a lot of its magic relies on presentation. “Serve it in clear glasses you can see through,” she says. “I can’t explain the science behind this, but it really does make the granita experience even more blissful.” Even better, it can be prepared up to three months in advance.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Big Night: Dinners, Parties, & Dinner Parties by Katherine Lewin © 2024. Published by Union Square & Co. Photographs © Emma Fishman.
Ingredients
8 to 12 lemons (about 2 pounds)
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 cup cold heavy cream
Directions
1. Zest four of the lemons, or enough for ¼ cup of zest. Reserve the zest in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to garnish. Halve and juice all the lemons, then strain the juice into a medium bowl (you should have about 1½ cups). Whisk in the sugar and salt until dissolved, then whisk in 2½ cups of filtered water. Taste and add another pinch of salt if it seems very sweet.
2. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into two shallow glass, ceramic or metal pans (they do not need to be the same size or type).
3. Chill the mixture in the freezer, uncovered, for 1 hour. Remove the pans from the freezer and use a fork to scrape and break up the icy mixture. Freeze, repeating the scraping process two more times as it freezes, until the mixture is completely icy (somewhere between a slushie and a sorbet), another 1 to 3 hours. Scrape the granita into airtight containers and freeze for up to three months. Remove it from the freezer 15 to 30 minutes before you’re ready to serve to let it warm up to a scrape-able consistency.
4. When you’re ready to serve, beat the cream in a medium bowl with a whisk or hand mixer until the cream holds soft peaks. Scoop the granita into chilled glasses, top it with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of the reserved lemon zest and serve.
Nutrition Facts
226 calories
13g fat
32g carbs
3g protein
22g sugars
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Note: The information shown is Edamam's estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.