Carrie Fehr

Need a refreshing lemony dessert?  With just a few simple ingredients like lemon, butter, and eggs, you can turn out a gorgeous soufflé-like cake with a delightful layer of creamy custard that is sweet, tangy, and floral.  Top it with a spoonful of Chantilly cream and a sprinkling of poppy seeds, or fresh berries.

 Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake

There are  Meyer lemon trees throughout my hometown of Berkeley, thanks to an early 1900′s agricultural explorer, Frank Meyer, who introduced this plant into the United States from Asia, and to Alice Waters of Chez Panisse restaurant,  for boosting its popularity.  This lemony dessert highlights the sweet taste of Meyer lemons with the best of both comforts, part pudding and part cake.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

¼ cup flour

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup Meyer lemon juice, 2 or 3 lemons

1 tablespoon Meyer lemon zest

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1 cup milk (I use 1%)

3 eggs, separated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350˚

Combine sugar, flour, and salt in a medium-size bowl.  Stir in lemon juice, zest, melted butter, and milk.

In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and pale. Add yolks to the lemon mixture.

In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff.  Gently fold into lemon mixture.

Pour into buttered soufflé dish, place into pan filled with hot water about 1 inch deep.

Bake at 350˚ for 35 minutes.  Remove from pan and let cool.  Turn the soufflé dish over and unmold on to a plate.  Top with Chantilly cream, a sprinkling of poppy seeds, or fresh berries.