Lemon Pudding Cakes

Pudding cakes are a hybrid of two well-loved desserts – cake and pudding. But you don’t actually use either cake or pudding to make them.

Confused?

Sorry. You won't be for long . . .

All you really need to know is that you whisk together most of the ingredients, fold them into some whipped egg whites and bake. What goes in the oven as a soupy batter comes out as cake on top and pudding on the bottom – like magic. If you baked these with kids, I bet it would blow their minds.

 If you need some sunshine in your life, make these Lemon Pudding Cakes. They’re bright and sweet and light – a perfect pick-me-up after a long, cold winter or a dark and stormy Spring day.

For us they were the perfect finish to our Good Friday feast!

Even better, this recipe is from the folks at Eating Well magazine so they are relatively good for you (high sugar content notwithstanding) with only 2 tablespoons of added fat.

Lemon Pudding Cakes

Adapted from Eating Well
Serves 8

I managed to use 4 6-ounce ramekins and 3 7-ounces very full ramekins for this batch, so you’ll need at the very least 8 6-ounce ramekins for the full batch. I strongly recommend using fresh squeezed lemon juice as it’s the star flavor in this very lemon-y dessert. I tried these both warm and chilled – I preferred mine chilled.

3/4 cup + 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup low-fat milk
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
3 large egg whites, room temperature

powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray eight 4- to 6-ounce ramekins with non-stick baking spray. Place ramekins in a roasting pan or baking dish deep enough to reach the top of the ramekins.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar, flour and salt. Add milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, melted butter and egg yolks. Whisk to combine.

Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. While beating, slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Continue beating until egg whites form stiff peaks and look glossy. Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter. (It will be soupy).

Divide batter among prepared ramekins in roasting pan. Put roasting pan in oven and fill pan with enough really hot tap water to come halfway up the side of the ramekins. Bake until set on top and lightly browned, 25-30 minutes.

Cool ramekins on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, or cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and chill to serve cold. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Comments

[Kayte]

Sounds fun...will have to try this one for the entertainment value and my addiction to all things lemon not involving chocolate. lol Looks pretty as well.