Lots of lemons! With three trees in our backyard, I am often overwhelmed by what to do with all the lemons. (Yes, I’ve become the “Do you need any lemons?” person from whom others have begun to steer clear…Much like the “Do you need any zucchini?” neighbor from whom you hide every August!)
Perfect for Mother’s Day, this lemony dessert comes together fairly easily. While it includes whipping egg whites and folding them into the batter, here’s a method that eliminates the need to thoroughly wash the mixing beaters before whipping the whites.
A few advance tips:
- If your pantry does not include superfine sugar, you can make your own by pulsing granulated sugar in a food processor until fine. You can substitute regular granulated sugar, but the end result will be a slightly coarser texture.
- Grate the lemon zest off the lemons before cutting them to extract the juice. Use a Microplane style zester-grater to remove the lemon zest to avoid including any of the bitter pith.
- Submerge eggs straight out of the refrigerator into a bowl of warm water to bring to room temperature quickly. The eggs must be at room temperature, especially the whites, to ensure maximum volume when whipping.
- Using a double thickness of paper towels at the bottom of the water bath will work nearly as well as a dish cloth.
Lemon Pudding Cakes
Adapted from Marion Cunningham, Tyler Florence and Cook’s Illustrated
Makes six, 6-ounce ramekins
Ingredients:
- 3/ 4 cup superfine sugar, divided into 1/ 2 cup and 1/ 4 cup measurements; plus more for dusting the ramekins
- 3 large eggs, whites and yolks separated; room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 4 tablespoons (1/ 2 stick) unsalted butter, melted; plus more for buttering the ramekins
- 1/ 2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1/ 4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/ 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Optional: Add 1 teaspoon finely minced culinary lavender to the dry ingredients
Preparation:
- Butter and lightly dust the bottoms and sides of 6 ramekins with sugar. Position an oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325˚. Fit a clean dish cloth into the bottom of a 9” x 13” x 2”, or larger, oven-proof baking pan; set aside.
- Whisk together the 1/ 2 cup of sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a medium bowl combine buttermilk, lemon juice, egg yolks and lemon zest; stir until thoroughly blended. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter while whisking to incorporate it. Add the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring until well combined.
- Beat the egg whites and remaining 1/ 4 cup sugar in a clean medium-small bowl until stiff peaks form, but they remain moist. Fold in 1/ 4 of the egg whites into the wet mixture first, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites until no clumps or streaks remain.
- Divide the batter evenly between the ramekins. They will be very full. Place the ramekins in the larger baking pan, on top of the kitchen cloth. Pour in cold water to about halfway up the sides of the ramekins, taking care to not get any water into the filled ramekins.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden brown, and they spring back when gently pressed. Remove from oven, leaving in the water bath for 10 minutes.
- Run a small knife or spatula around the edge of each ramekin to loosen the pudding, then let cool to room temperature before carefully inverting onto a serving plate. Cooling to room temperature allows the pudding topping to set. These may also be served directly out of the ramekins, where the pudding will be on the bottom. Serve with fresh berries.
Note: To macerate berries, gently fold about 1/8 to 1/ 4 cup of sugar into 1 to 2 cups of berries at least one hour before serving. The juices from the berries will help to dissolve the sugar. You can help them out by adding a tablespoon or two of liqueur such as St. George’s Raspberry or their Aqua Perfecta, framboise eau de vie (raspberry brandy) distilled and bottled in Alameda.
