posted by Southern 08-30-98 3:22 PM
LEMON PUDDING CAKE
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
Yolks from 3 large eggs
Whites from 4 large eggs (room temperature)
3 tablespoons flour
2 to 3 teaspoons grated zest and 1/4 cup strained juice from 1 or 2 lemons
1 cup milk
Adjust oven rack to center position, then preheat oven to 325 °F. Lightly grease molds. (Use six 3/4-cup custard
cups, four 1-1/3-cup ramekins, one 9" round cake pan, or one 8" square pan.) Lay folded dish towel in the bottom of a larger pan, then set molds or pan inside. Boil several quarts of water for water bath.
In bowl, use the back of a wooden spoon to mash together butter, sugar, and salt until crumbly. Beat in yolks and
then flour until smooth. Slowly beat in lemon zest and juice. Stir in milk. In another bowl, beat egg whites to stiff moist peaks. Gently whisk whites into batter, just until no large lumps remain. Ladle batter into molds at once. (Do not pour.)
Set large pan on oven rack, then pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up sides of molds. Bake
until pudding cake center is set and springs back when gently touched (about 25 minutes). Remove large pan from
oven, but let molds stand in water bath for another 10 minutes. Pudding cakes can be served warm, at room
temperature, or chilled.
Orange Pudding Cake
Change recipe as follows: Use the juice (1/4 cup) and zest from 1 medium-sized navel orange instead of the lemon
juice and zest. Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
Note: Pudding cakes are basically custards. As the cake bakes, the beaten egg whites float to the top (forming a
spongy cake-like cap) while the rest of the batter settles to the bottom (forming a pudding-like layer). When the
cake is unmolded, it will have a gooey layer on top.
Source: Cooks Magazine (Jan/Feb 1995)