Berliner Luft (Berlin Lemon Cream Dessert)
Description
Berliner Luft is a light, foamy dessert cream of egg yolk, beaten egg white, sugar and gelatine, flavoured with lemon and served with raspberry sauce. The cream sets in small moulds and is turned out for serving, standing as a pale tower on a red mirror of sauce. Despite the name it has nothing to do with Paul Lincke's march: the dessert is older.
Directions
✓ researched- 1
Soak the gelatine in plenty of cold water. Wash the lemon in hot water, finely grate the zest and squeeze the juice. Separate the eggs and chill the whites.
⏱️ approx. 8 min - 2
Whisk the egg yolks, 90 g of the sugar, lemon juice, zest and white wine in a bowl over a hot water bath until the mixture becomes thick and creamy. The bowl must not touch the water and the mixture must not exceed 70 °C, or the egg will curdle.
⏱️ approx. 10 min💡 Tip: A kitchen thermometer takes out the guesswork — at 65 to 70 °C the cream is safe and stays smooth.
- 3
Take the bowl off the water bath. Squeeze out the gelatine and dissolve it completely in the still-hot cream, stirring. Then chill the mixture, stirring occasionally, until it begins to set.
⏱️ approx. 5 min - 4
Beat the egg whites stiff with a pinch of salt. As soon as the lemon cream is thick but not yet firm, fold in the beaten whites in two batches. Do not stir but fold — the air is the point of this dessert.
⏱️ approx. 8 min - 5
Fill the cream into four moulds or cups rinsed with cold water, smooth the tops and let set in the fridge for at least four hours, preferably overnight.
⏱️ approx. 5 min - 6
For the sauce, briefly boil the raspberries with the remaining sugar and two tablespoons of water, pass through a fine sieve and let cool. Dip the moulds briefly in hot water, turn the creams out onto plates and spoon the raspberry sauce around them.
⏱️ approx. 10 min
Recipe video
YouTubeExternal video for inspiration – ingredients and preparation may differ from our recipe. Playing it connects to YouTube (Google).
📜 Origin & History
The name is misleading. Paul Lincke wrote his song "Das ist die Berliner Luft" in 1904, but the dessert is older: a recipe under this name already appears in a cookbook of 1897. The cream belongs to the middle-class Berlin cooking of the late 19th century, when gelatine spread quickly as a new, industrially available setting agent and foam creams came into fashion. Characteristic is the combination of a very light, barely sweetened lemon cream with a tart red fruit sauce; depending on the recipe, white wine, rum, cinnamon or vanilla sugar may also go into the mixture. Berlin restaurants still list Berliner Luft as a dessert today.
🗺️ Where is Berliner Luft cooked?
Berlin · Berlin
Main regionThe cream carries the name of the city and belongs to Berlin's middle-class home cooking. A recipe appears in a cookbook of 1897, seven years before Paul Lincke's song of the same name. It has largely disappeared from the menus of Berlin restaurants.
More from Berlin →Deutschland
Through the cookbooks of the late 19th century the dessert spread across the German-speaking area. It still appears in recipe collections and magazines outside Berlin, usually as a lemon or wine-foam cream served with raspberry sauce.
More from Deutschland →🌿 Regional variants
Lemon cream (classic version) (Berlin)
Egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and zest are whisked over a water bath, set with dissolved gelatine and lightened with beaten egg white. This version uses no alcohol and lives on the acidity of the lemon.
Wine-foam version (Deutschland)
Dry white wine goes into the cream alongside or instead of the lemon juice, sometimes with a dash of rum. The foam becomes milder and less sharp, sets a little softer and is usually served in a glass.
Restaurant version with peppermint liqueur (Berlin)
Apple juice and dry white wine form the base. Before plating, the raspberries are marinated in peppermint liqueur, a nod to the Berlin liqueur of the same name with which the dessert is often confused.
🍷 What goes with it?
The cream is served cold, either turned out of a mould or layered in a glass, always with raspberry sauce or marinated raspberries. Thin wafer rolls or sponge fingers go well alongside. Coffee is the usual drink; for a festive meal a medium-dry Riesling or a glass of sparkling wine. As the cream needs at least two hours to chill through, it can easily be made the day before.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the dessert named after Paul Lincke's song?
No — and in any case the song is the younger of the two. Lincke wrote "Das ist die Berliner Luft" in 1904, while a recipe for the dessert of the same name already appears in an 1897 cookbook.
Can the cream be made without raw egg?
The yolk is heated to about 70 °C over a water bath in this recipe and is therefore cooked. What stays raw is the beaten white. If you want to be completely safe, use pasteurised egg white from a carton; taste and texture are unchanged.
Why does the cream sometimes collapse?
Usually the beaten white was folded in too early. If the lemon cream is still runny the foam sinks and the mixture separates into two layers. Fold in only once the cream visibly thickens and the spoon leaves a trail.
What is the difference between the dessert and the liqueur called Berliner Luft?
They are two different things that only share a name. The liqueur is a clear peppermint spirit from Berlin; the dessert is a pale foam cream of egg, sugar, lemon and gelatine. There is no peppermint in the cream. Some restaurants play on the confusion and marinate the raspberries with a dash of the liqueur.
How long does Berliner Luft need to chill and how long does it keep?
Two hours in the fridge is the minimum, overnight is safer: only then does the gelatine hold the cream firmly enough to turn it out. Covered, it keeps for two days. It should not stand longer, as it contains raw egg white and starts to weep. Freezing destroys the foam.
What is Berliner Luft served with?
Raspberry sauce belongs with the cream, either as a sieved purée or as fresh berries briefly marinated. The acidity of the fruit balances the sweetness of the foam. Thin wafer rolls or sponge fingers are served alongside, with coffee or a medium-dry Riesling to drink. Other fruit works too, as long as it is tart, such as redcurrants or sour cherries.
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Ingredients
verified- Egg4 pcs
- sugar120 g
- Lemon1 pcs
- Gelatin6 pcs
- White wine100 ml
- Raspberry250 g
Nutrition per serving
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