Lemon Pudding Cake
You are probably wondering how or why we selected this as one of our weekly bakes. Honestly, we don’t really remember! When we were making our list, we had our favorite cookbooks out and paged through them looking for pictures that looked delicious or for classic baked goods that we felt we needed to try. My favorite go-to cookbook for traditional desserts (Mom’s Best Desserts), however, doesn’t have any photos and is pretty uninspiring! (By the way, that should be illegal. Cookbooks should be required to have a picture for every recipe as far as I am concerned. 😉 ) So, this one must have sounded delicious at list making time.
I don’t think we even read most of the recipes when we were making our list so, in my mind, lemon pudding cake was some kind of cake that had pudding in it, maybe something like a poke cake. I had no idea it was made in ramekins with a water bath…again. We are becoming experts on the bain-marie and I’m looking forward to making another cheesecake one of these days with our new found water bath prowess!
Upon reviewing the ingredients, I quickly realized this was no poke cake with only 1/4 cup of flour for six servings! We had to do some research and find some photos since our reference cookbook didn’t help us. After viewing a few posts, I think the best way to describe a lemon pudding cake for me was to call it the lemon version of a chocolate lava cake (sort of). Now, if you know what that is, the description kind of works, if not, you’re still lost. Basically, the ingredients separate while cooking leaving a light, spongy “cake” on the top and a creamy custard (pudding) on the bottom. NOW, it really sounds delicious!!
As I mentioned, we used the recipe from my Mom’s Best Desserts cookbook (if you don’t have this cookbook and you love traditional desserts, I highly recommend it). Our substitutions included a 1:1 mixture of Splenda and Allulose to replace the sugar and using almond milk instead of regular milk. We didn’t even bother using whole wheat flour because 1/4 cup wasn’t worth risking the failure of the dessert. We followed the rest of the recipe as written.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- 5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 medium sized lemons)
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 1 1/2-quart baking dish or 6 custard cups. Set into a slightly larger pan that is at least 2 inches deep.
- In a mixing bowl, combine 3/4 cup of the sugar, the flour, and the salt. Add the butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Mix until thoroughly blended.
- With a whisk, beat the egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Add the milk and mix well. Combine with the lemon mixture, stirring until blended.
- In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar gradually, and beat until the egg whites are stiff but not dry. The egg whites should hold their shape and remain moist. Fold the whites into the lemon mixture. Spoon into the baking dish or custard cups. Pour 1 inch of hot water into the larger pan, surrounding the baking dish or custard cups with hot water.
- Bake in the baking dish for 45 minutes or in the custard cups for 35 minutes, or until the pudding is set and the top is golden brown.
- Remove the baking dish or custard cups from the water bath and let cool on a rack. Serve warm or chilled. (makes 6 servings)
Our Experience
With this recipe, we had two things going at the same time. Aubrey took on assembling all of the wet and dry ingredients while I whisked the egg whites and got them ready for mixing with the rest of the ingredients. Due to that, we didn’t get a lot of “in progress” photos. (By the way, Aubrey hates all the picture taking because it interrupts her baking flow. She’s sacrificing a bit so I can do the blog.) We also noted that this is possibly the first recipe we have made all year that did not use vanilla. Which got us thinking and realized that whether they are vanilla flavored or not, most dessert recipes call for vanilla. We have gone through quite a bit already this year!
For this recipe, when separating the eggs, be especially careful to keep any yolks out of the whites (whenever you are planning to whip egg whites for volume or a meringue). The fat in the yolk will make it difficult to get the whites to form the stiff peaks you are looking for. It isn’t always impossible, but it will take a lot longer. Also, make sure there is no residue of fat from any previous item in your bowl either.
Another great thing about this recipe is that it used the entire lemon(s) too! No zestless lemons sitting in the refrigerator waiting for someone to juice them. (Typical problem at my house because I will not skip the lemon zest in any recipe that calls for it!) We bought 2 lemons and they produced enough juice and zest for the recipe.
While Aubrey measured and assembled the rest of the ingredients, I separated the eggs and got started whipping the whites. The eggs being room temperature also helps them to set faster. And finally, the cream of tartar is an acid that is called a “stabilizer” and will help the whites hold their shape…make them “sturdier”. The egg whites in this recipe are going to provide the “rise” (for lack of a better term) on our cake. There is no baking powder or soda creating a light and airy texture…that’s all coming from our egg whites.
We added the whites to the rest of the ingredients starting slowly and realizing combining them was like chasing around an ice cube in a punch bowl and gave up that method. We added all of the whites and really wanted to keep them in tact as far as their loft but we had to get them incorporated. We “folded” them as gently as possible but it was really difficult to mix them together without some actual stirring. In the end, we could still see plenty of bubbles along with a few egg white lumps but thought there might be a better method to retain more of our egg white form.
Once again, we prepared our pan for the water bath, this time we had 6 servings. When I look at this picture, it reminds me that we were supposed to grease our ramekins and that is a step we realized we missed after the cakes were done!
We let the cakes get pretty brown on the top because we had no way of knowing how done the custard at the bottom was. We did check the temperature with a thermometer before taking them out and made sure it was at least 170 degrees (based off of previous recipes). They smelled delicious while baking; like a lemon shortbread. When we took them out of the oven, they were tall and at the top of the ramekins. We figured that being kind of like a soufflé, they would probably sink a bit. Had we greased our ramekins, they might have puffed up above the ramekins and the sides might have fallen with the center and left less of a crater look.
The photo below is the best looking cake as far as the “crater” look. It fell the least of all of them. You can see the spongy texture even from the top of the dessert, without having to cut it open. Of course, you’re not “cutting” this, it’s a totally spoon worthy dessert!
As they say, the proof is in the pudding (literally in this case) and this one was a good one. The cake on top gave way to a rich lemony custard (even though it was made with almond milk) just like it was supposed to.
What we liked.
This dessert received 5 out of 5 with those that don’t really like lemon desserts giving it an “it’s OK for a lemon dessert”. Those of us who like lemon desserts really liked it. As is usually the case for me, any time I have a dessert made with tart ingredients (lemon, lime, rhubarb), I prefer a little more tartness than most recipes provide but everyone else thought it was good. I absolutely loved the mix of textures. The spongey cake meeting the rich, creamy pudding was simply the perfect mix.
As with the crème brûlée, this dessert is so pretty in the ramekins it would be perfect for entertaining. It would be really easy to make ahead of time too and serve with a bit of whipped cream or sprinkle of powdered sugar. Overall, it was assembled fairly quickly and easier than many other desserts you might try making.
While the recipe mentioned it could be eaten warm or cold, I would highly suggest eating it cold. I tried it both ways and the custard thickened up when it was chilled and I preferred that over the texture of the warm one.
Finally, though I don’t usually post the calories of the desserts we make because the app I use may not be completely accurate, this recipe is a keeper for that reason alone!! Coming in at 91 calories per serving, with our substitutions, it could very well be a regular on my dessert rotation!!
What we would change.
When I make it again, I think I’ll try to add the liquid to the whites rather than the whites to the liquid. I think it might be easier to incorporate without losing the so much of the loft of the egg whites. If I were making it just for myself, I might hold back a touch of the sugar (substitute) just to get it a bit more tart…it is a lemon dessert after all. Again, that’s just me, but I might start with holding out 1/8 of a cup of sugar and see how that works.
What we learned.
This was our first recipe whipping egg whites for their volume. Even though we’ve baked a ton of things through the years, I can honestly say, meringues are pretty new to me. The only time I remember whipping egg whites was when making “cloud bread” several years ago. I think I might have to practice the different stages before trying to tackle some of our baking selections in the coming months! Maybe….
We were also reminded that we need to slow down a bit so we don’t forget a step (greasing the ramekins). Aubrey wanted to get done quickly because March Madness was calling her name! Little did she know the dumpster fire our brackets were going to become. 😉
Until next week, Happy Baking!