SAUCY LEMON PUDDING CAKE

From The Girl Can’t Cook by Cinda Chavich (Whitecap Books)

The Girl is a sucker for mouth-puckering lemon desserts. Sure, she’ll take to her bed with a box of chocolates, but life is usually more like a bushel of lemons, isn’t it?

This is that classic childhood comfort – lemony cake batter that separates into a cake layer on top and a saucy lemon layer on the bottom. Simple enough for family suppers – or fancy, if made in individual molds and topped with some fresh berries and a dusting of icing sugar. You’ll need to buy two medium lemons to get enough fresh juice for this recipe.

1/4 cup butter, softened 50 ml

1 cup granulated sugar, divided 250 ml

2 tablespoons minced lemon zest,  (about 1 lemon) 25 ml

3 eggs, separated  3

1/4 cup all-purpose flour 50 ml

1 cup milk 250 ml

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 75 ml

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Butter an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish.

In a bowl, beat the butter and 3/4 cup (175 ml) of the sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in the lemon rind and add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour, alternating with the milk and lemon juice, and beat until the batter is smooth.

Wash the beaters. In another bowl, beat the egg whites with the electric mixer until foamy, then add the remaining 1/4 cup (50 ml) of sugar, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) at a time, while you continue to beat. When the egg whites are stiff, mix one-third of the whites into the lemon mixture, then carefully fold in the rest. The idea is to keep the batter fluffy so don’t overmix.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and place the baking dish in a larger pan. Place in the oven and add boiling water to the larger pan, filling until it’s about an inch (2.5 cm) deep. Bake for 35-45 minutes. The top should be slightly browned and set, which means it should be firm when you touch it.

Remove the pudding from the water bath and set it on a rack to cool.  Cool for 20 minutes and serve warm, or chill.  Scoop the pudding into dessert dishes to serve, making sure everyone gets some of the saucy stuff on the bottom of the baking dish. Serves 6.

GIRL TALK: If you want to make this simple comfort food into a fancy pants dessert, bake the batter in six individual ramekins (they’ll be done in about 20 minutes). Then call it Souffléed Lemon Pudding, and garnish with those fresh berries we were talking about – trés chic!