LEMON PUDDING CAKE
Howdy!
Last Friday night Brad and I hosted what we call our “Comfort Food” dinner.
We have an intimate little group, just 5 really close buddies that enjoy food. All of us like to prepare food, and eat food, and we like doing it together. We are a cosy, cohesive little group of five friends that decided it would be fun to share a low-key, low-fuss, high-comfort-style meal once a month. To make it easy on the host, everyone contributes something to our meal, but the host/hostess always prepares the main course. We have had everything from Pheasant Casserole made with wild Pheasant that Mark brought back from a hunting expedition in South Dakota……
to Pasta Carbonara that Dave learned to cook in Italy, and much, much more!
But, for this Comfort Food Dinner, the group put in a request: They wanted me to prepare the Udon Noodles with Curried Chicken recipe that I recently featured on the blog.
To start off our meal Ruth made a wonderful appetizer that she learned to make at a recent cooking class she attended. These little pinwheels are made from rolled out bread filled with herbed cream cheese, asparagus and smoked salmon. I’m going to hit Ruth up for the recipe and promise to share it with you soon! They were DELICIOUS!
And Dave, our resident wine expert, bought 3 new wines for us to taste with our meal.
So, we enjoyed our appetizer and toasted the evening……
before moving on to our informal dinner in the kitchen.
Dave made a delicious salad and I made Udon Noodles with Curried Chicken.
But the pièce de résistance was my Lemon Pudding Cake for dessert!
When planning for our Comfort Food dinners, I always try to think of recipes that I remember from childhood. In fact, my husband likes to say “the true definition of comfort food are the dishes your kids ask for when they come home from college.” So, what came to mind for me was a dessert my mother would frequently make for us when I was growing up: Lemon Pudding Cake. Served warm out of the oven on a cold winters night, it is the definition of comfort food. So, here is my recipe for this tangy and comforting dessert. Start with these 6 ingredients.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then separate 3 eggs and set them aside.
Now, wash your lemon/lemons to remove any pesticides or wax that may be present on the rind. If your lemons are big, like this one, you should only need one. Using a microplane, zest 2 teaspoons of lemon rind, being careful to zest only the yellow rind without penetrating the white pith which is bitter.
Next, cut the lemon in half and juice it, straining out the seeds and pulp. You will need 1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice.
Add the 3 egg yolks to a mixing bowl……
Using an electric mixer, beat the yolks until they are pale.
Then add 3/4 cup of sugar to the egg yolks and beat into a thick paste. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
Now add the 2 teaspoons lemon rind, 1/3 Cup of lemon juice and 1-1/3rd cups milk to the egg mixture and once again beat to combine.
In a separate bowl, add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to 1/2 cup all-purpose flour. Using a whisk, stir to combine.
Now, add the flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture and beat to combine. Pour the egg yolk mixture into another vessel of some sort and set it aside. Next, wash out the mixing bowl, as it will need to be clean, oil free and dry to beat the egg whites.
Add the 3 egg whites to your clean mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed until frothy. At this point add the remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar to the egg whites and continue beating until soft peaks form. A “soft peak” means that the peaks slump over slightly when the beaters are lifted from the egg whites. Do not overbeat.
Finally, pour the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites. Using a silicone spatula, carefully and gently fold the yolks into the whites.
Do not over mix/fold or the egg whites will lose their light airiness which gives rise to your Lemon Pudding Cake.
This recipe can be baked in a single casserole dish or it can be divided among 8 small ramekins. In either case, place the casserole dish or the ramekins into another pan of very hot water. The hot water should be about 1 inch high. This will allow your Lemon Pudding Cake to cook evenly.
Now, pour the mixture into the ungreased vessel of choice.
Carefully place them in a 350º preheated oven and bake for approximately 40 minutes or until slightly golden brown and firm to the touch. As you can see, they will have puffed up over the sides of the baking dish like a lovely soufflé. When you dip into the Lemon Pudding Cakes, you will find them to be cake-like on top and moist and pudding-like on the bottom. Delicious!
Dust them with a little powdered sugar, garnish with a lemon slice and serve them warm out of the oven to your happy Comfort Food dinner guests.
Bon Appetit! The printable recipe is below.
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- 3 Eggs, Separated
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar, Divided
- 2 Teaspoons Lemon Zest
- ⅓ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1-1/3 Cup Milk
- ½ Cup All-Purpose Flour
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Wash lemon and then zest 2 teaspoons of lemon rind.
- Juice lemon to produce ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice.
- Separate the 3 eggs.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks until pale.
- Add ¾ cup sugar to the egg yolks, setting aside ¼ cup of remaining sugar.
- Beat the eggs and sugar into a thick, pale paste.
- Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and milk to the egg yolk mixture and beat until combined.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
- Add the flour/salt to the egg yolk mixture, beat to combine, then pour into another pourable container and set aside.
- Wash and dry your mixing bowl. Add egg whites to the bowl and beat until frothy.
- Add in remaining ¼ cup sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form.
- Add the egg yolk mixture to the beaten egg whites and carefully and gently fold in until just combined.
- Pour into 8 ungreased ramekins or a 1 quart casserole dish.
- Place in another dish filled to 1 inch with very hot water.
- Bake for approximately 40 minutes until golden brown on top and firm to the touch.
- Remove from the water bath.
- Dust with powdered sugar and garnish with a lemon slice.
- Serve warm.
