This recipe is a concoction which allows the cake part to float to the top and the custard part to float to the bottom. While there was not a big distinction between the cake and pudding layer, I did find these to be tasty. They were a nice change from the chocolatey cake I made earlier this week.
I love all things citrus-my favorite fruit drink is lemonade. You will not see me drinking tea or soda if lemonade is around, regardless of the weather. When I took of spoonful of this cross between a cake and a pudding, I was quite taken. Fluffy in some areas and silky smooth in others, the texture was pleasing to the palate. Also, the tart lemony flavor was pretty addicting, so it was very difficult not to eat the whole thing. It had just the right amount of tartness, not mouth puckering but enough for you to notice the zing.
I filled two 16 ounce ramekins to make mine. The recipe below is for six 6 ounce custard cups or ramekins. Also, you can use a 1 quart casserole dish. The cooking time should be about 55-65 minutes for the casserole dish.
Baked Lemon Cake Puddings
adapted from Good Housekeeping Book of Desserts
Ingredients
3 tbs flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
3 tbs melted butter
2 eggs, whites and yolks separated
2 medium sized lemons
Grease all the inside of the ramekins or custard cups. Set aside.
Zest the lemons to make 1 tablespoon. Then squeeze out 1/3 cup of lemon juice.
Fill a small bowl with the egg whites and salt. Beat until soft peaks form and continue to beat, slowly adding 1/2 cup of sugar. Beat at high speed until the mixture reaches the stiff peak stage.
Take out another bowl and beat egg yolks with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Then add all the other ingredients and beat until well blended. Fold the egg white mixture into the batter with a whisk or spatula, folding until no white streaks remain.
Then boil about 6 or 7 cups of water in a saucepan. While this is coming to a boil, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Evenly fill the custard cups with the batter and place in a 9X13 inch pan and place on oven rack. Fill the pan with the boiling water so it comes halfway up the sides of the custard cups. Slide rack with pan back into oven and bake until tops are golden and firm. This should take about 40-45 minutes. Remove and let custard cups cool on wire rack before serving.