I was planning a Birthday Dinner for a very special friend. My entrée was sole meunière, and I wanted to keep dessert light with lemon flavors but still make it really special. So here it is, Lemon Pudding Cakes! Like steamed puddings, as they cool, they lose some of their height but gain in moist texture. Not the traditional birthday cake I know, but everyone had their own cake and with the Custard Sauce and fresh blueberries, it was special for everyone! There were eight of us, so I doubled the recipe and it worked great.
Serves: 6
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: about 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven
4 Tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup of granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
3 large egg yolks
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 heaping teaspoons lemon, zested
¼ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 cup whole milk
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups Custard Sauce, recipe attached, can be made ahead (optional )
1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Coat six, 5-oz ramekins lightly with cooking spray and set them on a kitchen towel in a deep baking pan.
- In a standup mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Beat in egg yolks, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed, about 2 minutes.
- Add the flour and mix until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add the lemon juice and the lemon zest. Add the milk and mix to make a smooth, light batter, about 2 minutes more.
- In a clean bowl of a standup mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites to medium peaks.
- Fold the egg whites into the batter.
- Ladle the batter into the ramekins, filling them about ¾ full.
- Place the baking pan on a pulled-out oven rack. Add enough hot water to come halfway up the side of the ramekins.
- Bake until the pudding cakes are golden brown and pull away from the edges of the ramekins, about 30-40 minutes.
- Carefully remove the ramekins from the water bath. Let the pudding cakes cool on a rack for 10 minutes before serving.
- To un-mold, warm a sharp knife in water and run it around the edges of each ramekin.
- Turn the pudding cakes out onto plates and serve.
Serve: Pour custard sauce over the pudding cakes and garnish with blueberries.
CUSTARD SAUCE
This is a perfect partner for a bowl of berries, a steamed pudding, or fruit filled pies and tarts. If you make the sauce ahead of time, cool it quickly over an ice bath and rewarm it just before serving, I served it cold.
Makes: about 2 cups
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise
½ cup sugar (divided use)
4 large egg yolks
- In a large heavy saucepan, over medium heat, combine the milk, cream, vanilla bean, and ¼ cup of sugar and bring to a simmer.
- Prepare an ice bath if you plan to serve the sauce cooled.
- In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ¼ cup of sugar with the egg yolks. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Temper the eggs by gradually adding about ⅓ of the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly.
- Add the remaining cream mixture, return to the pan, and gently cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 6-10 minutes.
- Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher to serve warm, or into a bowl set over an ice bath to serve chilled. Stir the sauce occasionally as it cools.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
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