The other day I made a fabulous Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake. It was so refreshing and light, yet full of flavor.
I bet it would be equally good made with key limes...If you're not familiar with the concept of a pudding cake, you are in for a real treat. The cake is light, refreshing, and not overly sweet. The top part of the cake is soft and fluffy, similar to a soufflé.
When you break into the cake with your spoon, you discover a creamy and smooth lemon pudding layer at the bottom. The two textures combine to create a heavenly dessert.
I served mine warm, topped with homemade whipped cream, which I find so much more decadent than Kool Whip, aerosol whipped cream or any other alternative.
But you could also simply dust your cake with powdered sugar before serving. Or do the powdered sugar and add fresh berries. (Beyond, that I guess you could just eat it unadorned.)
The leftovers, if any, should be refrigerated. Don't worry, the cake is good served cold, too.
In case you'd like to try it, here's my recipe:
Anne's Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake
Yield: Serves 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes (after you juice and zest the lemons, so more likely 45 minutes)
Cook Time: 35 - 40 minutes
Ingredients:
Butter, for greasing
1/3 C. all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
1-1/4 cups whole milk
4 teaspoons grated Meyer lemon zest
3/4 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice - this might require juicing 8-12 lemons
5 egg yolks - @ room temperature
4 egg whites - @ room temperature
1 cup cold whipping cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 1-1/2 quart soufflé dish. (You can use six 8-ounce ramekins, if you want individual servings).
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt and 1 cup sugar. In a medium bowl, whisk milk, lemon zest, lemon juice and egg yolks until blended. Stir into the flour mixture until just blended.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg whites at medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to medium-high, add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and beat to stiff peaks. Add one-quarter of the whites to the lemon mixture and gently fold in. Continue to fold in whites one-quarter at a time. Transfer it to the prepared soufflé dish or dishes. Place the dish or dishes in a larger pan and carefully pour boiling water around it to a depth of halfway up the sides of your dish or ramekins.
4. Bake until the top of the cake is slightly golden brown and the center is just set. The cake should spring back when gently touched. This will probably be 35 minutes for the large cake or 20-25 minutes for the ramekins. Do not open the oven door while the cake is baking. When the cake is done, remove from the water bath immediately and cool on a rack for 10-15 minutes.
5. To make the whipped cream topping, beat the heavy cream in a large chilled bowl - I prefer to do this with the stand mixer, but you can do it by hand. If using a mixer, chill the beater, too. As soon as soft peaks form, add the 3 tablespoons of sugar, and a half teaspoon of vanilla.
Serve warm.
Notes-if you can't find Meyer lemons you can use regular lemons - or change things up and make this with key limes. Just use 3/4 cup of lemon or lime juice. The recipe required a whole bag of Meyer lemons when I made it, but you might need less if your lemons or limes are larger.
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